Effect of Heat Treatment and Hot Isostatic Pressing on the Corrosion Behavior of Ti6Al4 V Parts Produced by Electron Beam Melting Additive Manufacturing Technology

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the effect of heat treatment (HT) and hot isostatic press (HIP) on the corrosion behavior of Ti₆Al₄ V, manufactured by electron beam melting (EBM) additive manufacturing. The preliminary results showed that the thermal process makes the columnar structure more pronounced and the α-lathe coarser compared to EBM. The β phase disappeared with the aging treatment and when increasing the HIP temperature treatment. According the open circuit potential (E_ocp) behavior of samples, the HIP3 sample had performed more positive corrosion potential than rivals after 2 h of immersion probably due to equiaxed grain with coarser α-late and the absence of the β phase. In adverse, inferior corrosion behavior was observed for HIP1 because of a higher quantity of the β phase causing probably galvanic corrosion. The HIP process leads to a lower corrosion potential than EBM. At least one protective oxide layer formation was observed for all samples at the anodic branch, and the current density was lower for the HT3 sample. The microstructure analysis revealed the presence of the β-phase in the form of needle-like for the HT1 sample and HIP1 in the corroded area. Furthermore, the EDS line analysis showed the presence of aluminum with oxygen at the edge of the corrosion area for HIP1 suggesting aluminum plays a barrier against degradation. On the other hand, the HT1 showed higher impedance resistance due to the coarser α-lathe microstructure and well-defined β phase.