On Ti6Al4V Microsegregation in Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing with Multiphase-Field Simulation Coupled with Thermodynamic Data

Electron beam additive manufacturing is an effective method for the fabrication of complex metallic components. With rapid solidification, the characteristics of microsegregation within the interdendritic region are interesting and important for the subsequent phase transformation and final mechanical properties. However, in view of the microsecond lifetime and the small length scale of the molten pool, experimentally investigating microsegregation is challenging, even with electron probe micro-analysis. In this study, a multiphase-field model coupled with the real thermodynamic data of Ti6Al4V alloy was successfully developed and applied to simulate the rapid solidification of columnar β grains via electron beam additive manufacturing. The thermal gradient (G) and cooling rate (R) were obtained from a 3D powder-scale multiphysics simulation and provided as inputs to a multiphase-field model. The effects of the electron beam process parameters and thermal conditions on the columnar β grains were investigated. Liquid films and droplets were observed to have solute enrichment in the intercellular region. The size of the liquid film increased at a lower scanning speed and energy power. Increasing the scanning speed and energy power refined the columnar β grains and decreased the liquid film size. The extent of microsegregation considerably increased at lower energy power, whereas the change in scanning speed had little effect on the microsegregation. The results also indicate that solute vanadium results in significant solute trapping and microsegregation during the rapid solidification of the Ti6Al4V alloy.