In this work, we studied samples of Ti6Al4V produced by the process of selective laser melting of metal powders. SLM allows the production geometrically complex products that cannot be produced using classical metallurgical processes. Due to the extremely high cooling rates in the SLM process, the samples’ microstructure mechanical properties differ from those of conventionally manufactured Ti6Al4V products. The aim of this thesis was to gain insight into the microstructure of SLM-manufactured Ti6Al4V samples, to investigate the correlation between the microstructure and mechanical properties, and to analyse the influence of heat treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the samples. The experimental part of the work included the preparation of the samples, measurements of electrical resistivity on the sample in the initiate state, heat treatment of the samples at different temperatures, and analysis of the microstructure of all samples. When comparing the microstructures of the samples at different temperatures, we observed the gradual decomposition of the needle-like α' martensite phase into the α- and β- phases. The effectiveness of the microstructural analysis was increased by determining the states of interest of the samples during heat treatment based on the in situ electrical resistivity measurements
|