Unlocking Strength-Ductility Synergy in Laser Additive Manufacturing of Ti-Cu Alloys via Core-Shell Feedstock Design
Date
Authors
Xu, Dingmeng
Yang, Wuxin
Yan, Ming
Behera, Malaya Prasad
Singamneni, Sarat
Hodgson, Michael A
Yang, Yafeng
Kondoh, Katsuyoshi
Cao, Peng
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Abstract
Solute segregation during conventional manufacturing restricts the development of Ti-Cu alloys despite their potential in biomedical applications. Here, we demonstrate that using core-shell Ti@Cu powders in laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) enables the fabrication of hypoeutectoid Ti-2.9Cu alloys with >98.4 % density, suppressed segregation, and enhanced chemical homogeneity. The resulting microstructure features equiaxed prior-β grains with ultra-fine α laths and well-distributed nano-sized Ti2Cu precipitates at lath boundaries, contributing to grain boundary and precipitation strengthening. Compared to blended elemental powders, the core-shell strategy improves ultimate tensile strength by 17 % (from 857 ± 15.9 MPa to 1004.5 ± 18.7 MPa) and ductility by 6.4 % (from 12.6 ± 0.01 % to 13.4 ± 1.0 %). Flow3D simulations indicate enhanced laser–powder energy coupling and a more stable, symmetric melt pool with reduced thermal gradients and uniform convection for the Ti@Cu feedstock, rationalizing the suppressed segregation. This study establishes feedstock architecture as a powerful lever to unlock strength–ductility synergy in laser additively manufactured Ti–Cu alloys for biomedical applications.Description
Keywords
4014 Manufacturing Engineering, 40 Engineering, 0910 Manufacturing Engineering, 0912 Materials Engineering, 0913 Mechanical Engineering, Materials, 4016 Materials engineering, 4017 Mechanical engineering
Source
Materials Science and Engineering: A, ISSN: 0921-5093 (Print), Elsevier BV, 149138-149138. doi: 10.1016/j.msea.2025.149138
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© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).