EFFECT OF OXYGEN AND NITROGEN CONTENTS ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE Ti-6Al-4V ALLOY MANUFACTURED BY SELECTIVE LASER MELTING
- 1 Institute of Metal Physics, Ekaterinburg, Russia
- 2 Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden
- 3 Central University of Technology, Free State, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Bloemfontein, South Africa
- 4 Regional Engineering Center of laser and additive technology, Ekaterinburg, Russia
Abstract
TiAl6V (ELI) has the low density, low elastic modulus and high strength. Biocompatibility of this material allows one to adapt it to human implant production and successfully use in the manufacture of surgical implants. Spherical argon-atomized Ti6Al4V (ELI) (45µm) powder from TLS Technik was used for study. The chemical composition complies with the ASTM F-136 (grade 5), ASTM B348 (grade 23) standard for surgical implant applications. Two machines from two scientific centers (Russia and South Africa) were used for the manufacturing of the alloys. Analysis of the oxygen and nitrogen contamination in SLM alloys was done with Van de Graaff accelerator with 2 Mega Volts. It is found that the oxygen concentration in both samples is about 0.2 wt. % and decreases with the increasing of the sample depth; the nitrogen concentration is about 0,02 wt%. X-Ray results show an absence of beta (BCC) phase in both samples. TEM studies found the metastable martensitic structure and silicon nitride Si3N4.