Influence of scanning speed on the intermetallic produced in-situ in laser-metal-deposited TiC/Ti6Al4V composite

The effect of scanning speed on titanium aluminide Ti3Al produced in-situ during laser metal deposited TiC/Ti6Al4V has been investigated and its effect on the microhardness and wear-resistance properties has been studied. In this study, the titanium alloy Ti6Al4V (an important aerospace alloy) was deposited in combination with titanium carbide TiC using a laser metal deposition process. The laser power was maintained at 3.2 kW throughout the deposition process. The powder flow rate and the gas flow rate were also kept at constant values of 2.88 g/min and 2 1/min, respectively. The scanning speed was varied between 0.015 and 0.105 m/s, and the influence of the scanning speed on the titanium aluminide (Ti₃Al) produced in-situ was studied, and its effect on the wear resistance behaviour was also investigated. The study revealed that as the scanning speed was initially increased, the Ti₃Al produced in-situ was found to increase and the wear resistance was found to improve. As the scanning speed was further increased beyond 0.06 m/s, the Ti₃Al produced and the wear resistance were found to decrease.