Microstructure Evolution and Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Laser Additive Manufacturing Ti-6Al-4V Under High Strain Rate

The dynamic mechanical properties of the Ti-6Al-4V (TC4) alloy prepared by laser additive manufacturing (LAM-TC4) under the high strain rate (HSR) are proposed. The dynamic compression experiments of LAM-TC4 are conducted with the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) equipment. The results show that as the strain rate increases, the widths of the adiabatic shear band (ASB), the micro-hardness, the degree of grain refinement near the ASB, and the dislocation density of grains grow gradually. Moreover, the increase of dislocation density of grains is the root factor in enhancing the yield strength of LAM-TC4. Meanwhile, the heat produced from the distortion and dislocations of grains promotes the heat softening effect favorable for the recrystallization of grains, resulting in the grain refinement of ASB. Furthermore, the contrastive analysis between LAM-TC4 and TC4 prepared by forging (F-TC4) indicates that under the HSR, the yield strength of LAM-TC4 is higher than that of F-TC4.