Effect of build orientation on the fatigue properties of as-built Electron Beam Melted Ti-6Al-4V alloy

Abstract As-built Ti-6Al-4V thin parts were manufactured in three different orientations using EBM and characterized by laboratory X-ray tomography. Fatigue tests were performed. The comparison with results for machined samples from the literature showed a large reduction of fatigue strength. SEM observations of the fracture surfaces showed that surface defects which were identified as notch-like defects on tomographic images caused the failure. Their impact on fatigue results was rationalized by Kitagawa-Takahashi diagrams. A build orientation impact on the fatigue properties was observed and linked to its effect on defects distributions and crack growth. The limits of roughness measurements were also discussed.