Comparative Study of Room and Cryogenic Deformation Behavior of Additive Manufactured Ti–6Al–4V Alloy

The microstructural evolution and underlaying deformation behavior of Ti–6Al–4V alloy fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF‐Ti64) during room (RT) and cryogenic (CT: −150 °C) temperature are systematically investigated. LPBF‐Ti64 exhibits significantly higher strength at CT (yield strength [YS]: 1339 MPa, ultimate compressive strength [UCS]: 1982 MPa) as compared to RT (YS: 1013 MPa, UCS: 1690 MPa) with reduction in fracture strain. To probe the deformation mechanisms responsible for exceptionally higher strength at CT, LPBF‐Ti64 alloy is compressed to 10% strain at both temperatures and the underlaying strengthening mechanisms are investigated. Dislocation strengthening is emphasized to be the major strengthening mechanisms (1166/1359 MPa for RT‐10 and CT‐10, respectively). The significantly higher dislocation density at CT (3.73 10 ¹⁶ m ⁻² for CT‐10 and 2.9 10 ¹⁶ m ⁻² for RT‐10) is attributed to the restricted dislocation movement at low temperature, whereas dislocation nucleation during further deformation will multiply the dislocations interlocking and pinning, hence resulting in higher strength.