3D printing creates the highest specific strength titanium alloy, which is expec

3D printing creates the highest specific strength titanium alloy.

Photo source: Monash University, Australia

The scientific research team led by Australian engineers wrote in the latest issue of Nature Materials that they used 3D printing method for the first time to obtain the titanium alloy with the highest specific strength so far, which is a major leap in the aerospace, national defense, energy and biomedical industries.

The latest research of Monash University shows that cutting-edge 3D printing technology can be used to produce ultra-high strength commercial titanium alloys, making them obtain unprecedented mechanical properties.

The researcher explained: "Titanium alloys require complex casting and thermal mechanical processing to obtain the high strength required for some key applications. We found that additive manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing can use their unique manufacturing processes to create super strong and thermally stable components in commercial titanium alloys."

In the latest research, the research team obtained a tensile strength of more than 1600 MPa after a simple heat treatment of a commercial titanium alloy, which is the highest specific strength of all 3D printed metals so far, paving the way for manufacturing structural materials with unique microstructure and excellent performance that can be widely used in many fields.

In the past decade, 3D printing technology has led a new era of metal manufacturing due to its ability to manufacture almost any geometric part. At present, titanium alloys are the main 3D printing metal parts used in the aerospace field. However, most commercial titanium alloys made with 3D printing technology cannot obtain satisfactory performance. Therefore, they cannot be used in some fields or their use effect is not satisfactory, especially their strength at room temperature and high temperature is insufficient.

The researchers said: "The latest research provides a new method for precipitation strengthening of commercial alloys, which can be used to produce real parts with complex shapes, and can be used in the field of load-bearing. So far, no titanium alloy has been used in this field. In addition, we have achieved this through 3D printing and simple heat treatment, which also means that compared with other materials with similar strength, the process cost of the latest technology is greatly reduced."

Source: Chinanet Technology