Effect of Laser Power and Gas Flow Rate on Properties of Directed Energy Deposition of Titanium Alloy

Rasheedat M. Mahamood*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Laser metal deposition (LMD) process belongs to the directed energy deposition class of additive manufacturing processes. It is an important manufacturing technology with lots of potentials especially for the automobile and aerospace industries. The laser metal deposition process is fairly new, and the process is very sensitive to the processing parameters. There is a high level of interactions among these process parameters. The surface finish of part produced using the laser metal deposition process is dependent on the processing parameters. Also, the economy of the LMD process depends largely on steps taken to eliminate or reduce the need for secondary finishing operations. In this study, the influence of laser power and gas flow rate on the microstructure, microhardness and surface finish produced during the laser metal deposition of Ti6Al4V was investigated. The laser power was varied between 1.8 kW and 3.0 kW, while the gas flow rate was varied between 2 l/min and 4 l/min. The microstructure was studied under an optical microscope, the microhardness was studied using a Metkon microhardness indenter, while the surface roughness was studied using a Jenoptik stylus surface analyzer. The results showed that better surface finish was produced at a laser power of 3.0 kW and a gas flow rate of 4 l/min.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)42-52
Number of pages11
JournalLasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing
Volume5
Issue number1
Early online date25 Jan 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Laser metal deposition process
  • Microhardness
  • Microstructure
  • Process parameters
  • Surface finish; titanium alloy

Cite this