The Australian research team has 3D printed the titanium alloy with the highest specific strength so far, which is a major leap in the aerospace, national defense, energy and biomedical industries.
The latest research of Monash University shows that cutting-edge 3D printing technology can be used to produce ultra-high strength commercial titanium alloys, making them obtain unprecedented mechanical properties.
The researcher said: "Titanium alloys require complex casting and thermal mechanical processing to obtain the high strength required for some key applications. Additive manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing can use their unique manufacturing processes to create super strong and thermally stable components in commercial titanium alloys."
In the latest research, the research team obtained a tensile strength of more than 1600 MPa after simple heat treatment of a commercial titanium alloy, which is the highest specific strength of all 3D printing metals so far, paving the way for manufacturing structural materials with unique microstructure and excellent performance that can be widely used in many fields.
The researchers said: "The latest research provides a new method for precipitation strengthening of commercial alloys, which can be used to produce real parts with complex shapes, and can be used in the field of load-bearing. So far, no titanium alloy has been used in this field. In addition, we achieved this through 3D printing and simple heat treatment, which also means that compared with other materials with similar strength, the process cost of the latest technology is greatly reduced."
