During the selective laser melting (SLM) process of Ti6Al4V, a special structure can be formed with columnar prior β grains along the building direction and fully martensitic α 0 within the β grain. To investigate the influence of such special structure on the fatigue crack growth (FCG) rate, Ti6Al4V specimens fabricated by SLM were heat-treated at two different temperatures in this study. The columnar grains were retained, and the martensite was decomposed when heat-treated below the β transus. It is found that all the SLM features were removed when heat-treated above the β transus. FCG rate tests were subsequently performed at room temperature, and it was found that the prior β grains affected the macroscopic fracture morphology, but there was no discernible influence on the FCG rate. The morphology of the α phase affected the crack growth path and the FCG rate. Changes in the strengthtoughness relationship induced by heat treatment can help understand the decrease in the FCG rate.
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