Application of High-Strength, High-Ductility Titanium Alloys for Additive Manufacturing (AM) Processing

In partnership with Lockheed Martin, QuesTek Innovations, a leader in the field of Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) has applied one of its high-performance Ti-alloys to wire-based electron beam additive manufacturing processing. A manufacturing path has been developed (e.g., wire production, deposition, post-processing heat treatment) and the resulting additively manufactured material has demonstrated initial improvements to the balance of static and damage-tolerant mechanical properties over wire e-beam processed Ti-6Al-4V.

QuesTek Innovations initially designed and developed these titanium alloys while sponsored by a U.S. Army-funded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program administered through Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. The design of these advanced Ti-alloys was based on Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) methodologies, which utilize QuesTek’s proprietary thermodynamic and kinetics databases. QuesTek applied the Materials by Design stage-gate approach to set performance goals (e.g., cast product that performs similar to a wrought product), target related properties (e.g., strength, ductility, etc.), and establish key processing parameters (e.g., alpha/beta transformation kinetics, castability, solidification behavior, etc.).

Results will be presented from this initial development program, as well as post-mortem microstructural and chemical analysis. Potential applications of this technology to aerospace applications will be discussed, as well as future potential development efforts for further alloy optimization and qualification.