Thu, 22 June, 2023
Research conducted by Dr Gowtham Soundarapandiyan on the subject of Ti6Al4V powder oxidation during laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing has been published in the International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture.
A Coventry University student sponsored by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, Gowtham began his PhD research at the National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC) at TWI in January 2021 under the supervision of Dr Carol Johnston and Dr Raja Khan of TWI Ltd, and Professor Michael Fitzpatrick, Professor Bo Chen, and Dr David Parfitt of Coventry University.
Gowtham’s paper, ‘In situ monitoring the effects of Ti6Al4V powder oxidation during laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing,’ describes results of experiments performed at the Diamond Light Source at Harwell, at the X-ray computed tomography (XCT) facility. The work was made possible through links Gowtham made with Professor Chu Lun Alex Leung, and Professor Peter Lee.
Making the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) additive manufacturing process sustainable requires effective powder recycling, especially as titanium powders are one of the most expensive materials used in AM and as most of the powder is not consumed during part manufacturing.
Recycling Ti6Al4V powder in L-PBF can lead to powder oxidation, yet the impact on laser-matter interactions, process, and defect dynamics during L-PBF are not well understood.
The study reveals and quantifies the effects of processing Ti6Al4V powders with low (0.12 wt%) and high (0.40 wt%) oxygen content during multilayer thin-wall L-PBF using in situ high speed synchrotron X-ray imaging.
Understanding the challenges of using recycled powders will provide confidence across industry and allow manufacturing processes to become material efficient without compromising the structural integrity of the parts.
You can access the published paper online, here.