Sintering and Forging Characteristics of Sintered Ti-6Al-4V Alloy Produced by Blended Elemental Method

In the process of production of Ti-6Al-4V alloy, which consists of blending of extra-low-chlorine Ti and 60 mass% Al-40 mass% V master alloy, cold compaction, vacuum sintering and hot forging, the influence of compaction stress and sintering conditions on the density of sintered compacts and various forging characteristics of the sintered compacts were investigated. The increasing rate of the compact density during heating up to sintering temperature depends on density of the green compact and heating time, with which it has a linear correlation. The increasing rate of the compact density during holding at sintering temperature is in proportion to the power of the holding time. The empirical equation of the density change during sintering was derived from these findings, and confirmed to coincide well with experimental values. The density after forging it is strongly influenced by pressure and plastic deformation during forging. The holes in the compact can be rejected completely by suitable forging condition, except the surface area of the compact where the temperature reduces rapidly compared with that of the inner part of the compact.