Researchers from the University of Washington’s Departments of Materials Science & Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, together with The Boeing Company, investigated the fatigue performance of Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) Ti-6Al-4V. The study examined how process-related defects and variation within the build influence fatigue life, and how low-temperature, high-pressure Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) can improve material performance.
The results showed that HIP eliminated lack-of-fusion defects as a cause of fatigue failure and substantially reduced variability in fatigue performance. The study also used radial root cause diagrams to better understand the defects contributing to failure.
Quintus Technologies’ Applications team in the US supported the project by providing the HIP processing and recommending HIP parameters designed to optimize the performance of the AM Ti-6Al-4V material.