Reuse of grade 23 Ti6Al4V powder during the laser-based powder bed fusion process
File(s)metals-10-01700-v2.pdf (3.24 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Harkin, Ryan
Wu, Hao
Nikam, Sagar
Quinn, Justin
McFadden, Shaun
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Titanium alloy powder used for laser-based powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process is costly. One of the solutions is the inclusion of a powder recycling strategy, allowing unused or exposed powder particles to be recuperated post manufacture, replenished and used for future builds. However, during a L-PBF process, powder particles are exposed to high levels of concentrated energy from the laser. Particularly those in close proximity to the melt pool, leading to the formation of spatter and agglomerated particles. These particles can settle onto the powder bed, which can then influence the particle size distribution and layer uniformity. This study analysed extra-low interstitial (ELI) Ti6Al4V (Grade 23) powder when subjected to nine recycle iterations, tracking powder property variation across the successive recycling stages. Characterisation included chemical composition focusing upon O, N, and H content, particle size distribution, morphology and tapped and bulk densities. On review of the compositional analysis, the oxygen content exceeded the 0.13% limit for the ELI grade after 8 recycles, resulting in the degradation from Grade 23 level.
Date Issued
2023-12
Date Acceptance
2020-12-18
Citation
Metals, 2023, 10 (12)
ISSN
2075-4701
Publisher
MDPI AG
Journal / Book Title
Metals
Volume
10
Issue
12
Copyright Statement
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/met10121700
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
1700
Date Publish Online
2020-12-21