Microstructure and anisotropic mechanical properties of selective laser melted Ti6Al4V alloy under different scanning strategies

Abstract Apparent anisotropies have been found in the microstructure and mechanical properties of selective laser melted (SLM) Ti–6Al–4V alloy, which will significantly influence the comprehensive performance of the SLM parts. In this study, the effect of scanning strategies on material anisotropy, including surface morphology, microstructure, microhardness, quasi-static and dynamic mechanical properties, were comprehensively investigated with 0°, 67.5°, and 90° scanning strategies. The SLM Ti6Al4V alloy prepared by the 0° scanning strategy exhibited the most pronounced anisotropy. The size of the primary columnar crystals on the front surface (158–173 μm) is approximately 1.8–3.2 times larger than that of the top surface (54–88 μm), and the microhardness at the top surface is ∼30% higher than that of the front surface. In addition, the modified Johnson-Cook constitutive model for the SLM Ti6Al4V alloy was developed based on the results of quasi-static compression and dynamic compression with the average absolute relative error controlled within 10%. This provides a reliable solution and an effective material constitutive model for modeling and simulation of the machining SLM parts with higher accuracy and enhanced physical meaning.