The Effect of Heat Treatment on the Microstructure and Properties of a 3D-Printed VT6 Titanium Alloy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32515/2664-262X.2026.14(45).146-154Keywords:
VT6 titanium alloy, 3D printing, heat treatment, microstructure, micromechanical properties, corrosion resistanceAbstract
The article aims to investigate the effect of heat treatment on the structure, micromechanical properties, and corrosion resistance of the 3D-printed VT6 titanium alloy, compared to those of the conventionally produced alloy.
This study examined samples of VT6 titanium alloy with identical chemical compositions, produced using selective laser melting (SLM) and conventional magnesium-thermal reduction, remelting, and deformation processes. The heat treatment of the 3D printed alloy was carried out in several stages: heating to 800°C at a rate of ≤ 80°C/h, holding for 2 hours ® cooling to 500°C at a rate of ≤ 150°C/h, holding for 0.5 hours ® cooling with the furnace to room temperature. The treatment was performed in a vacuum (P = 10⁻³ Pa). According to metallographic analysis, the conventionally produced VT6 titanium alloy exhibits a typical equiaxed structure. In contrast, the microstructure of the titanium alloy produced by 3D printing is characterized by a needle-like martensitic structure, which is evidently due to the high heating and cooling rates during the alloy’s production. As a result of heat treatment, the metastable martensitic microstructure transforms into an (α+β) two-phase lamellar structure
The research revealed that the titanium alloy produced by 3D printing exhibits lower corrosion resistance in the tested environments compared to the conventionally produced alloy, which is attributed to the presence of a metastable martensitic structure and residual stresses within the structure. The effect of heat treatment performed at a temperature below the α→β polymorphic transformation temperature on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of the 3D-printed VT6 alloy in a 20% aqueous hydrochloric acid solution and in Ringer’s solution was investigated. It was found that such heat treatment leads to a threefold improvement in the alloy’s corrosion resistance in Ringer’s solution compared to the conventionally produced alloy, and brings it closer to the level of the conventionally produced alloy in a 20% hydrochloric acid solution due to the reduction of the non-equilibrium α′ martensite phase and the growth of the β-phase, as well as the reduction of microdeformation in the α/α′ lattice.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Iryna Pohrelyuk, Serhii Lavrys, Olena-Mariia Danyliak, Oleh Tkachuk, Halyna Veselivs’ka, Roman Proskurnyak
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
