Influence of building direction on the fatigue crack-growth of Ti6Al4V specimens made by EBM

Electron Beam Melting (EBM) is a technology that allows to process materials, such as titanium alloys, that require high process temperatures and are difficult-to-machine through traditional manufacturing technologies. The Ti6Al4V alloy, widely used in biomedical, automotive and aerospace applications, relies in the group of the materials that present these requirements and, nowadays, is perhaps the most widely EBM-printed material. The performance of this material under cyclic loading can be influenced by many factors such as porosities, residual stresses, corrosive environments, building direction, etc. This research aimed at assessing the fatigue crack propagation behavior of TiAl64V specimens made by EBM along different building directions. Tests were carried out using standard 8 mm thick Compact-Tension C(T) specimens in laboratory conditions. The main objective was to study the effects of the building direction on the residual fatigue life of specimens and to understand the fatigue failure mechanisms.