Fatigue strength of an (α+β)-type titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V produced by the electron-beam physical vapor deposition method

The fatigue test results are presented for an (alpha + beta )-type titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V in the form of two-layered smooth specimens (the first layer is a condensate prepared by the electron-beam physical vapor deposition method, the second one is a substrate from a standard sheet material of the same type) and condensate specimens. It has been found that the presence in the condensate of deposition defects such as droplets lowers the fatigue limit of the material by approximately 1.5 times as compared to that of the condensate which is free of defects. It is shown that in the absence of droplets, the fatigue limit of the condensate is no lower than that of the substrate material. The microstructure, texture and fracture surfaces of the materials under study are analyzed, on the basis of which the fatigue limits of the defectless condensate and substrate material are calculated using approaches of linear fracture mechanics. Good agreement has been obtained between calculated and experimental data.