Experimental Investigation on Laser Metal Deposition of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy with Coaxial Local Shielding Gas Nozzle

An inert gas environment is required during the laser metal deposition of titanium alloys due to oxidation. A nozzle with local shielding device is more flexible than the inert gas chamber, and size of the components produced is not restricted. In this study, a coaxial double-deck gas shielding nozzle was designed to provide a local shielding for the laser metal deposition of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Numerical simulation of flow field under four different gas flow rates was carried out, and the corresponding Ti-6Al-4V single clads as well as components were produced. Experimental results revealed that the effective protection length increased and then became steady with the gas rate getting larger. Every component showed significant change in the degree of surface discoloration. Among that when the gas flow rate exceeded 30 L/min, surface of the formed bulk components showed yellowish and shiny silver and the internal oxygen content was below 2000 ppm, which had a minimal raise from the powder. In addition, the microhardness of the components showed little increase compared with the rolled substrate.