CHARACTERIZING THE EFFECT OF POST WELD HEAT TREATMENT ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF LASER BEAM WELDED ADDITIVE MANUFACTURED TI6AL4V

The Ti6Al4V alloys are finding various industrial applications due to their attractive attributes, which can be enhanced via heat-treatment processes. In this study, titanium sheets (Ti6Al4V) were manufactured through laser metal deposition (LMD) using Ti6Al4V powder of particle sizes between 45-90 mu m. The build parameters used are optimized at a laser power of 400 W, powder feed rate of 2.4 g/min, hatch spacing of 0.9652 mm, and scanning rotated at 90 degrees between successive layers. The built block is sliced using a wire-electric discharge machine (EDM) into sheets of 2 mm thickness. The resulting blocks were joined using the butt configuration through laser beam welding technology. Post-weld heat treatments were conducted on the welds above the beta transus temperature of 995 degrees C. Material characterizations of the evolving properties were conducted using Optical Microscopy, Vickers microhardness, and tensile testing. The investigations show that the heat-treated samples have enhanced properties and can be recommended. The outcome of this research is significant as it gives insight into the optimization of laser welding and post-weld heat treatment parameters of Titanium Alloy Grade 5 for industrial applications.