Accepted Manuscript

Anisotropy and heterogeneity of microstructure and mechanical

properties in metal additive manufacturing: A critical review

Y. Kok, X.P. Tan, P. Wang, M.L.S. Nai, N.H. Loh, E. Liu, S.B. Tor

PII: S0264-1275(17)31049-3
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2017.11.021
Reference: JMADE 3498
To appear in: Materials & Design
Received date: 8 July 2017
Revised date: 9 October 2017
Accepted date: 9 November 2017

Please cite this article as: Y. Kok, X.P. Tan, P. Wang, M.L.S. Nai, N.H. Loh, E. Liu,
S.B. Tor , Anisotropy and heterogeneity of microstructure and mechanical properties in
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was captured as affiliation for all authors. Please check if appropriate. Jmade(2017),
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Anisotropy and heterogeneity of microstructure and mechanical properties

in metal additive manufacturing: a critical review

Y. Koka, X.P. Tana,*, P. Wangc,*, M.L.S. Naic, N.H. Lohb, E. Liua,b, S.B. Tora,b
a
Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang
Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore
b
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang

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Avenue, 639798, Singapore
c
Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, 73 Nanyang Drive, 637662, Singapore

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* Corresponding authors. E-mail: xptan1985@gmail.com & xptan@ntu.edu.sg (X.P. Tan)
wangp@simtech.a-star.edu.sg & wangpangh@gmail.com (P. Wang)

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Abstract

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) has developed rapidly over the last decade to
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become a disruptive technology capable of revolutionizing the way that products from various
industrial sectors such as biomedical, aerospace, automotive, marine and offshore are designed.
Early adopters of the technology like the biomedical and aerospace industries have shown that
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the better-designed components offer substantial performance improvements over current

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designs. However, in-depth and comprehensive views on the microstructure and mechanical
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properties of additively manufactured metals and alloys are less reported. To realize the full
design potential that metal AM can offer, especially for load-bearing structural components, it
is imperative to provide a thorough understanding on the anisotropic and heterogeneous
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microstructure and mechanical properties that often occur within metal AM parts. This paper
outlines a broad range of metal AM technologies and reviews literatures on the anisotropy and
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heterogeneity of microstructure and mechanical properties for metal AM parts. It can be

highlighted that the contributing factors to the anisotropy and heterogeneity within metal AM
parts were either their unique microstructural features or manufacturing deficiencies.
Concluding remarks on the state-of-the-art research regarding this topic and the possible
solutions to overcome the anisotropy and heterogeneity of metal AM parts are provided.

1. Introduction
Metal additive manufacturing (AM), popularly known as metal three-dimensional (3D)
printing, is a process of joining metallic materials (in powder, wire, sheet forms, etc.) to make
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objects from 3D models usually layer upon layer [1, 2]. Metal AM has the potential of
revolutionizing how metallic items are designed and constructed in the digital industrial era [3-
5]. Sales of metal AM systems have been increased dramatically over the past few years [6].
Moreover, technologies have become increasingly mature for industrial adoption [7].
Correspondingly, there is an obvious boom in research interest in the area of metal AM,
particularly in the last five years [8].

Most of studies have clearly stated benefits of metal AM technology, while there are

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still some limitations such as anisotropy and heterogeneity in microstructure and mechanical
properties [9]. Anisotropy depicts a variety of orientation-dependent features of a material,

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while heterogeneity is defined as uniformity in its features. Recent studies have found that
metal AM parts exhibited anisotropy and heterogeneity in microstructure and mechanical

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properties [10-15]. In conventional practice, superior and consistent mechanical properties of
metal AM parts are prerequisites for engineering applications [16-18]. The use of functionally
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graded materials (FGM) is less common in conventional applications, though recent research
has suggested that FGM are a possible way to meet future demands of the modern industry
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[19]. There have been extensive studies on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and
processability of various metals and alloys in a variety of metal AM systems [8, 9, 20-22]. In
particular, the formation of anisotropic and heterogeneous microstructure and its influence on
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mechanical properties are becoming hot research topics in metal AM field [9, 23-25].
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Metal AM parts usually undergo complex cyclic thermal history consisting of

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directional heat extraction, repeated melting and rapid solidification [21, 26], which would
create anisotropic and heterogeneous microstructures that intrinsically differed from the
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metallic parts manufactured via conventional methods [11, 12]. As a result, anisotropic and
heterogeneous properties may occur in metal AM parts. In addition, AM defects such as pores,
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rough surfaces and lack of fusion layers, etc., would also induce the anisotropic and
heterogeneous properties of metal AM parts [27, 28]. This paper will review the published
literatures regarding the anisotropy and heterogeneity in microstructure and mechanical
properties of metallic parts manufactured by the various metal AM techniques. The main
objective is to better understand the microstructure and property of as-built AM materials so
that direct manufacturing of metallic parts could be achieved in the short run.

2. Metal AM systems

2.1 Classification
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The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) international committee F42
on AM technologies classified AM technologies into 7 process categories in total [29]. The
categories pertaining to metal AM are the following directed energy deposition (DED),
powder-bed fusion (PBF), and sheet lamination (SL). The abbreviations of metal AM systems
mentioned in this paper are listed in Table 1. Figure 1 shows a summary of the metal AM
methods for each category.

Table 1. Abbreviations of metal AM terms mentioned in this paper (in alphabetic order).

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Nomenclature
DED Direct energy deposition

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DMLS Direct metal laser sintering

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EBF3 Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication
EBM Electron beam melting
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LF3 Laser Free-Form Fabrication
LENS Laser engineer net shaping
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LMD Laser metal deposition

LOM Laminated object manufacturing
PBF Powder bed fusion
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SL Sheet lamination
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SLM Selective laser melting

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SLS Selective laser sintering

SMD Shaped metal deposition
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UAM Ultrasonic additive manufacturing

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Metal AM technology

Powder-bed fusion Directed energy Sheet lamination

(PBF) deposition (DED) (SL)

Laminated object
Selective laser
Powder-fed system Wire-fed system manufacturing
melting (SLM)
(LOM)

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Electron Beam Ultrasonic additive
Direct metal laser Laser engineer net
Freeform manufacturing
sintering (DMLS) shaping (LENS)
Fabrication (EBF3) (UAM)

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Selective laser Shaped metal Shaped metal
sintering (SLS) deposition (SMD) deposition (SMD)

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Electron beam Shaped metal
melting (EBM) deposition (SMD)
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Laser free-form
fabrication (LF3)
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Figure 1. Summary of metal AM systems.

2.1.1 Powder-bed fusion (PBF)

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PBF processes typically involve selective sintering or melting of powder materials

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using either a laser or an electron beam based on a powder-bed [30]. The laser beam imparts
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energy to the metallic powder via the absorption of radiation, while the electron beam works
via the kinetic collisions between electrons and powder [31]. At the beginning of the process,
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a fresh layer of metallic powder was spread evenly using a rake or roller mechanism. The high-
energy laser/electron beam then selectively melted the deposited layer of powder. After a layer
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was built, build table was lowered and the cycle repeated till the part was fully fabricated.

A generic schematic of a PBF system is shown in Figure 2. There are a number of laser-
based AM techniques such as Laser Cusing, Direct Metal Laser Sintering, Selective Laser
Sintering and Selective Laser Melting, though they are all essentially share a similar working
principle [8]. The term “SLM” will be used to refer to all laser-based AM techniques under the
PBF process for clarity in the following section. Unlike the SLM technologies, Arcam AB
(Mölndal, Sweden) is currently the only commercial manufacturer of electron beam-based PBF
systems, i.e. EBM.
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Figure 2. Generic illustration of a PBF AM system [32].
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2.1.2 Directed Energy Deposition (DED)
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DED processes cover the following systems such as Laser Engineer Net Shaping
(LENS), Direct Metal Deposition (DMD), Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) and Shaped Metal
Deposition (SMD). The DED process can be further sub categorized according to their material
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feedstock mode (i.e. powder-fed systems and wire-fed systems) as shown in Figure. 1.
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Generic illustrations of the DED powder-fed system and wire-fed system are shown in
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Figure 3. DED process is a category of AM techniques that use a focused beam or an electric
arc to fuse metallic powder or wire materials feedstock by layer-wise melting [20, 33]. Metal
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parts fabricated by DED processes exhibited high cooling rate solidified microstructures [2].
The layer of material being deposited can vary between 0.1 to a few millimetres in thickness
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[20]. Powder-fed AM systems have shown unique advantages in repair of worn or damaged
metal components as they are not restricted to a powder bed [34].

Of particular interest is that DED processes are capable of producing functionally

graded (heterogeneous) parts due to its flexibility to change materials’ compositions at each
layer, by simply adjusting feeding materials and process parameters [2, 35]. Additionally, wire-
fed systems have the highest deposition rates due to the feedstock of wire materials.
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(a) (b)

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Figure 3. Generic illustrations of a DED AM systems: (a) powder-blown system, (b) wire-fed

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system [21].

2.1.3 Sheet Lamination (SL)

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Sheet lamination processes include Ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) and
Laminated object manufacturing (LOM). Sheet lamination processes typically bond thin sheets
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of metallic foils by brazing, diffusion bonding, laser welding, resistance welding, or ultrasonic
seam welding. A promising SL process is UAM, which uses ultrasonic vibrations to bond metal
tapes into near net shape components [36]. Generic schematics of two SL AM systems are
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shown in Figure 4. An advantage of SL process is in its capability of processing different metal

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materials. The process does require additional post machining to remove unbound metals and
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to produce features such as channels and holes in order to achieve the desired geometry. Due
to the joining of metal sheets, anisotropy in mechanical properties was prevalent in SL parts
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[20]. This is mainly due to the weaker bonding formed across the foil interfaces as compared
with the intergranular bonding within each foil tape [2].
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We found that each metal AM system may have their specific applications based on
their own advantages. PBF systems are typically employed to produce complex geometries
requiring high resolution and rigorous build accuracy. While DED systems are commonly
applied to repair and refurbishment of metal parts and large-scale manufacturing. Lastly, sheet
lamination systems have the capability of joining dissimilar metals to produce components
with some specific properties.
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Figure 4. Generic illustrations of SL AM systems: (a) Laminated object manufacturing

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(LOM) [2] and (b) Ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) [37].
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2.2 Influence of processing variables on anisotropy and heterogeneity

A brief summary of the operating conditions and specifications of typical PBF, DED
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and SL systems is shown in Table 2. AM processing variables such as deposition rate, beam
size, process temperature, deposition rates, deposition mode or scanning strategy, materials
would result in differences in the microstructure of the as-fabricated part. The following sub
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sections will discuss such processing variables with regards to their influence towards
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anisotropy and heterogeneity of microstructures and properties for metal AM parts.

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Table 2. Various operating conditions and specifications of PBF, DED and SL systems.
System Build Volume Energy Source Preheat Beam Deposition Layer Ref.
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(mm) Temperature Dia. (µm) Rate/cc h-1 Thickness

(0C) (µm)

Powder-bed System
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Electron beam based

Arcam (A2XX) Ø420300 3 kW Electron beam up to 850 (Ti- ~250 up to 60 50 [20, 38,
6Al-4V, Co-Cr 39]
etc.)

Arcam (A2X) 200200380 3 kW Electron beam up to 1100 (Ti- ~200 up to 80 25-90 [40-45]
6Al-4V,
Inconel, Ti-Al
etc.)

Arcam (Q10) 200200180 3 kW Electron beam up to 850 (Ti- ~100 up to 80 50 [46]

6Al-4V)

Laser beam based

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SLM (SLM250) 250250250 400 W Nd: YAG laser up to 200 ~80 ~20 10-50 [20, 47]

EOS (EOS 400) 400400400 1000W: fiber laser up to 80 ~80 ~40 40 [28]

Concept Laser 250250300 200W: fiber laser up to 80 70-200 ~20 30 [48-50]

(M2)

Powder-fed systems

Optomec 9001500900 1-4 kW IPG fiber laser - ~250 ~230 250 [1, 20]

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Wire-fed systems

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Sciaky (EBAM 762027433353 >40 kW @ 60 kV - ~380 ~2000 3000 [1, 20]
300) welder

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Sheet lamination systems

VHP UAM 1500x1500x600 9 kW @ 20 kHz NU - - - 150 [51, 52]

2.2.1 Deposition rate

Some AM processes such as powder-fed DED are capable of producing material

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heterogeneity through in-situ variation in the deposition rate [53]. Figure 5a and b shows the
result of a study that investigated the effect of deposition rates on the area fraction of equiaxed
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or columnar grains in the microstructure of DED titanium parts [53]. Though the reduction in
deposition rate and beam size are often required to achieve better geometrical accuracy in such
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processes [2]. Figure 5c and d shows simulation results that supports the previous findings that
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the higher deposition rate results in the greater percentage of equiaxed grains. As a high
deposition rate would correspond to a larger melt pool geometry and higher scanning velocity.
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Figure 5. (a) A plot of the deposition rate against the area fraction of the equiaxed and
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columnar grains within a melt pool for the powder-fed DED process. (b) A schematic
illustrating the measurements of area fractions of equiaxed and columnar grains fEG and fCG
based on DED Ti–6.5Al–3.5Mo–1.5Zr–0.3Si alloy [53]. (c) Simulated Beam Power-Velocity
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process map for melt pool dimension control and (d) microstructure of a single bead deposit
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of electron beam wire-fed AM Ti-6Al-4V [54]. These show that the formation of a particular
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grain morphology can be controlled via the deposition rate.

2.2.2 Beam size and power

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Beam size and power may influence particle ejection during the layer-wise melting
process. There are three basic particle ejection modes in beam melting processes: (1) the
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convective transport of liquid or plasma metal out of the molten pool commonly called spatter
ejection or sometimes referred to “fireworks” during the melting process, (2) kinetic recoil of
powder in DED and (3) electrostatic repulsion of powder particles in EBM [20]. The former
has been known to result in welding defects and is an underlying mechanism for the formation
of process-induced porosity [20, 55]. Such defects can in turn affect the anisotropy and
heterogeneity of the metal AM part.

2.2.3 Build environment

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The AM build environment is an important processing variable. It was found that the
absorption of atmospheric gasses during the building process might negatively impact the
mechanical properties of the materials [56]. Thus, inert gas or vacuum atmosphere were often
used during the metal AM processes [8]. However, operating in high vacuum environment will
lead to an increased melt vaporization and outgassing of impurities [20, 57], which could cause
heterogeneity in chemical composition. In addition, it was reported that the flow rate and the
pathway of inert gas had an effect on the porosity in SLM-built Ti-6Al-4V [58] due to the fact

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that impurities generated from the melting process were re-deposited onto the scanned area.

2.2.4 Processing temperature

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Processing temperature varies among the different metal AM systems. Some metal AM
systems like LENS and UAM typically work at low process temperatures, while others such as

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EBM could require a processing temperature as high as ~1000 oC for some high-temperature
materials [59]. Low substrate temperature in metal AM systems can reduce the heterogeneity
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in microstructure due to differences in part size [60]. However, the low substrate temperature
could induce a higher magnitude of residual stress distributed unevenly in metal AM parts [61],
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which has been reported to negatively affect the bulk mechanical behaviour [20].

2.2.5 Deposition mode and scan strategy

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Deposition mode is the way in which material is delivered onto the melt surface in the
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metal AM system. The angle at which the material is fed in DED processes has been shown to
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be significant to minimize the defects during melting [62]. In the case of PBF processes, the
beam scanning strategy is the important factor for controlling build defects [63]. The scan
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strategies that are commonly used in PBF systems include bi-directional, snaking and checker
box [64-66]. Scan strategies have been reported to influence the crystal texture of the grains
due to differences in the overall direction of the thermal gradient [67, 68]. Crystallographic
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texture mainly contributes to anisotropy in the material [69, 70]. Other than crystallographic
texture, scan strategy has also been attributed to be able to control the formation of either
equiaxed or columnar grains, by altering the scan strategy across layers [71, 72]. As such it can
be seen that deposition mode and scan strategy could play an important role in controlling the
anisotropy and heterogeneity in metal AM parts.

2.2.6 Materials

Most of metal AM technologies such as PBF, DED and SL, adopt raw material in the
forms of powder, wire and sheet. The quality of powder (e.g. morphology and size distribution)
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used in PBF systems can determine the uniformity of powder spreading across the build plate
[73, 74]. Such physical properties can also affect the density of metal AM parts [75]. The
difference in the powder’s quality is due to the different powder production methods [20].
Some powder production methods such as gas atomization can induce gas porosity into the
final AM part. Post heat treatment processes (e.g. hot isostatic pressing) was needed to
eliminate such pores [57]. The technology for the production of wire feedstock for the DED
process is more mature as compared to the production of powder feedstock [20]. However,

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there still exist some defects relating to wire-type feedstock. Defects such as cracks or scratches
on the wire surfaces can directly lead to porosity in the final AM part [20].

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3. Anisotropy in metal AM

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Metal AM systems allow the fabrication of near-net-shaped parts with excellent tensile
properties [9]. Some researchers reported anisotropic mechanical properties in metal AM parts,
while other researchers reported on the contrary [11, 76-81]. The discrepancy in the studies
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may be due to the complex microstructure that exists in metal AM parts [82, 83]. This section
thus aims to discuss the relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties on
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anisotropy.

3.1 Anisotropy in microstructure

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3.1.1 Grain morphology

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A common microstructure feature observed in metal AM parts was the epitaxial

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columnar grain morphology [11, 15, 38, 43, 84-86]. Figure 6 shows an example of the epitaxial
columnar grain morphology in SLM Co-Cr-Mo-alloy via an SEM micrograph and its
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corresponding crystal orientation map [87]. Such columnar grains that are aligned parallel to
the build direction have been mainly attributed to causing anisotropy of mechanical properties
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in metal AM parts [10]. In the build direction, the accumulation of slip dislocations along the
prior β grain boundaries is greater as compared to the orientation perpendicular to the build
direction due to the longer length of the prior β grain boundaries [88]. As such more plastic
deformation before failure is generally reported in the vertically orientated samples [9].
Epitaxial columnar grain growth is because of the re-melting of previous layers during the
material deposition process. It induced sufficient thermal gradient within the melt pool, which
would prevent nucleation ahead of the solidification front [72]. It is worthwhile to note that the
novel use of rolling deformation step to refine the columnar grains in AM-processed Ti-6Al-
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4V alloy has been demonstrated to be effective in refining the grain size [89]. This could lead
to new development to metal AM processes.

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Build direction
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Figure 6. (a) SEM micrograph of the cross section of a Co-29Cr-6Mo alloy produced using
the SLM process. (b) The corresponding crystal orientation map of the micrograph [87]
showing the epitaxial columnar grain morphology in metal AM parts.
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3.1.2 Crystallographic texture

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Given the steep thermal gradient along the build direction, the EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V
exhibited a preferential <001> crystallographic texture for the reconstructed prior β grains [90].
Figure 7 shows that the <001>β texture of the reconstructed prior β grains of EBM-built Ti-
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6Al-4V improved with build height due to the grains with a <001> orientation having the
greatest growth advantage [90]. Strong crystallographic texture has been known to result in
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anisotropy in mechanical properties [91]. However, due to the phase transformation from β to
α phase following the Burgers orientation relationship and a near random distribution of α
phase across the 12 variants during the phase transformation, the resultant crystallographic
orientation of the predominantly α phase showed an almost isotropic distribution [82, 85]. It is
thus likely that the resultant crystallographic texture in the case of EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V may
not be a significant contributor to anisotropy. Another study on laser based PBF tantalum
likewise suggested that the elongated grain morphology along the build direction had a larger
influence on the anisotropy as compared to the crystallographic texture [69].
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Figure 7. Reconstructed β-phase IPF maps and their corresponding texture pole figures for
EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V alloy at different build heights of (a) 0.5 mm, (b) 5 mm, (c) 25 mm, (d)
35 mm near the build top surface [90] showing the heterogeneity in crystal orientation with
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build height.
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3.1.3 Lack-of-fusion defects

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Lack-of-fusion defects can be formed possibly due to unoptimized process parameters

[92]. Such processing defects can range from ~50-500 µm in size [93]. More importantly, such
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defects often act as stress concentration sites as they are orientated perpendicularly to the build
direction. The directionality of such defects plays an important role on the anisotropy in mechanical
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properties [27]. This is attributed to the tensile stress being normal to the plane of the defect,
thus inducing crack propagation along the tip of the defect leading to material failure. As such,
it is important to identify such processing induced defects during the AM process. Many are
actively conducting research in the area of in-situ process monitoring, to identify such material
discontinuities during the manufacturing process [93]. Post heat treatment process like HIP can
eliminate a majority such lack-of-fusion defects from metal AM parts [9].

In summary, columnar grain morphology, crystallographic texture and lack-of-fusion

defects are the three factors contributing to the anisotropy in the microstructure of metal AM
part. With on-going research to improve the quality of metal AM parts, it can be foreseen that
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such lack-of-fusion defects will be significantly reduced [9]. Therefore, the columnar grain and
the strong crystallographic texture mainly contribute to anisotropy in metal AM parts.

3.2 Anisotropy in mechanical properties

The published literatures regarding the anisotropic mechanical properties (e.g. tensile,
compressive, fracture and fatigue) from metal AM parts will be discussed in the following
sections. The majority of the available results was based on AM-processed titanium alloys.
Other metals or alloys (e.g. cobalt chrome (CoCr), Inconel superalloys, stainless steels and

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aluminium alloys, etc.) will also be discussed in this article. In addition, the article will examine
whether the anisotropic mechanical properties of metal AM-processed parts could meet the

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minimum requirements for practical applications. As anisotropy is an orientation-dependent
property, the orientation designation standard will be presented to provide clarity.

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3.2.1 Orientation designation standard
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In order to develop standards for AM, the ASTM international formed a committee in
2009 and the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) formed a committee in 2013.
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Then the two organizations signed a partnership to jointly develop standards for AM [94]. This
article will adopt the ISO and ASTM standard regarding the orientation designations for
mechanical testing to provide consistency in comparison [94]. Figure 8a shows the orientation
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designation for mechanical testing based on the ISO and ASTM standard. In this terminology,
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rectangular test coupon requires three alphabets (X, Y, and Z) to provide a complete orientation
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designation. The X-axis is designated to be parallel to the front of the machine while the Z-axis
is in the vertical direction. The Y-axis is perpendicular to both the X and Z-axis, with a positive
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direction following a right-hand rule coordinate system. The first alphabet in the designation
corresponds to the axis parallel to the longest overall dimension and the second and third
alphabets correspond to the axis parallel to the second and third longest overall dimensions.
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Additionally, Figure 8b shows the possible ISO designations for determining the
orientation dependence of mechanical properties for AM-processed samples based on a study
[24]. The first letter in this nomenclature represents the directions normal to the crack plane,
and the second letter represents the predicted direction of the crack propagation. The last letter
represents the plane in which the crack begins (e.g. start (s), end (e), middle (m) and both (b)).
These orientation designation standards thus provide a starting point for comparison of the
published literature in the current work. Further standards to designate the orientation and
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location dependent properties need to be developed given the reported heterogeneity in metal
AM parts [9].

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Figure 8. Orientation designations for mechanical testing of AM-processed materials, (a)

tensile test [9] (b) determining the orientation dependence of mechanical properties [24].
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3.2.2 Tensile properties

Many studies have shown that the tensile properties of AM-processed Ti-6Al-4V are
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comparable to their cast and wrought material equivalents [9, 11, 21, 95]. However, less
emphasis has been placed on investigating the anisotropic mechanical properties of metal AM
parts using various technologies. More importantly, it is still not well understood if the lower
limit of anisotropic mechanical properties in metal AM parts could meet the minimum
requirements of their cast and wrought equivalents. Table 3 summarises the anisotropic tensile
𝜎𝑥 −𝜎𝑧
properties of various metal AM parts. Anisotropy will be defined as × 100% [96], where
𝜎𝑥

𝜎𝑥 and 𝜎𝑧 denotes the mechanical properties (e.g. yield strength, elongation, fracture toughness
and fatigue threshold) in the x and z directions, respectively. It is worth noting that the trend of
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anisotropy is opposing for tensile strength and ductility [97]. In the majority of the studies on
EBM-built and DED-built Ti-6Al-4V, no significant anisotropy in yield strength was observed
[11]. However, in the case of SLM-built Ti-6Al-4V, there existed higher anisotropy in the yield
strength between the different build orientations. Anisotropy in tensile properties was also
observed in SL aluminium alloy [14]. Despite anisotropy being exhibited by the SLM-built Ti-
6Al-4V, a majority of the reported yield strength either matched or surpassed the minimum
values for their cast and wrought equivalents.

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However, the majority of ductility results observed in SLM-built and DED-built Ti-
6Al-4V was below the minimum value of 8-10 % elongation for wrought material. The low

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ductility of SLM-built and DED-built Ti-6Al-4V is mainly attributed to the brittle martensitic
phase formed during the SLM and DED processes [10, 98]. By contrast, EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V

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parts usually have better ductility properties [11, 43, 84, 99]. It is noted that SLM, DED and
EBM-fabricated parts all showed better ductility in the vertical orientation as compared to the
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horizontal orientation as can be observed by the high anisotropy percentages [11, 60]. Ductility
of metal AM parts can be improved through post heat treatment processes [96, 100, 101]. In
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some studies, anisotropy in ductility remains between the different orientations, suggesting that
the anisotropic property is most likely due to the columnar grains [11, 80, 97].

Table 3. Summary of tensile properties of various metal AM parts.

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Material Condition Process Tensile Axis Anisotropy in Anisotropy in Yield Strength Ultimate Tensile Elongation (%) Ref.
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Orientation yield strength elongation (%) (MPa) Strength (MPa)

(%)
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Powder-bed fusion

Electron beam based

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Ti-6Al-4V As-built Arcam Horizontal (XY) -1.0 -14.0 870.0 ± 8.1 971.0 ± 3.1 12.1 ± 0.8 [102]

Vertical (Z) 879.0 ± 12.0 953.0 ± 8.8 13.8 ± 0.9

Ti-6Al-4V As-built Arcam A1 Horizontal (XY -3.7 -33.3 783.0 ± 15.0 833.0 ± 22.0 2.7 ± 0.4 [81]
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&YX)

Vertical (ZXY) 812.0 ± 12.0 851.0 ± 19.0 3.6 ± 0.9

Ti-6Al-4V Machined Arcam Horizontal(X/Y) 27.3 -98.0 1195.0 ± 19.0 1269.0 ± 9 5.0 ± 0.5 [103]
S400

Vertical (Z) 869.0 ± 7.2 928.0 ± 9.8 9.9 ± 1.7

Ti-6Al-4V As-built Arcam S2 Horizontal (XY) -0.1 26.2 982.9 ± 5.7 982.9 ± 5.7 12.2 ± 0.8 [79]

Vertical (Z) 984.1 ± 8.5 1032.9 ± 12.9 9.0 ± 2.9

Ti-6Al-4V As-built Arcam A2 Horizontal (XYZ) 23.6 - 825 907 - [88]

Vertical (ZXY) 630 792 -

Ti-6Al-4V HIP Arcam Horizontal (XYZ) -0.2 5.1 866 ± 6.4 959 ± 8.2 13.6 ± 0.6 [102]

Vertical (Z) 868 ± 2.9 942 ± 2.6 12.9 ± 0.8

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Ti-6Al-4V As-built Arcam Horizontal (XY) -2.8 -28.6 ~875 ~950 ~14 [11]
A2X

Vertical (Z) ~900 ~950 ~18

Ti-6Al-4V As-built Arcam Horizontal (XYZ) 0.0 -4.1 803 896 17 [104]
ELI

Vertical (Z) 803 896 17.7

Ti-6Al-4V As-built Arcam Horizontal (XYZ) 1.8 -9.5 817 ± 4.3 918 ± 1.0 12.6 ± 0.8 [102]
ELI

Vertical (Z) 802 ± 7.9 904 ± 6.9 13.8 ± 0.9

Ti-6Al-4V HIP Arcam Horizontal (XYZ) 0.9 -8.8 814 ± 2.4 916 ± 2.5 13.6 ± 1.2 [102]

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ELI

Vertical (Z) 807 ± 8.4 902 ± 8.7 14.8 ± 0.5

CoCrMo As-built Arcam Horizontal (XYZ) -9.6 84.0 717 1110 5 [105]

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Vertical (Z) 786 869 0.8

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CoCrMo HIP & Arcam Horizontal (XYZ) 0.2 0.0 586 1145 30 [105]
HT

Vertical (Z) 585 1151 30

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Laser beam based

Ti-6Al-4V As-built SLM Horizontal (XYZ) -2.9 0.0 1093 ± 64 1279±13 6±0.7 [80]

Vertical (ZXY) 1125 ± 22 1216±8 6±0.4

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Ti-6Al-4V As-built Renishaw Horizontal (XYZ) 10.0 -17.1 1075 ± 25 1199 ± 49 7.6±0.5 [97]
AM250

Horizontal (XZY) 1.1 24.6 978 ± 5 1143 ± 6 11.8 ± 0.5

Vertical (ZXY) 967 ± 10 1117±3 8.9±0.4

D

Ti-6Al-4V Machined EOS M270 Horizontal (X/Y) 4.4 2.2 1195 ± 19 1269±9 5±0.5 [103]
SLM
E

Vertical (Z) 1143 ± 30 1219±20 4.89±0.6

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Ti-6Al-4V Machined SLM Horizontal (XY) 15.4 77.6 1137 ± 20 1206±8 7.6±2 [101]

Vertical (Z) 962 ± 7 1166±25 1.7±0.3

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Ti-6Al-4V As-built Concept Horizontal (XY) 1.9 -54.5 1070 ± 50 1250±50 5.5±1 [98]
Laser M2

Vertical (Z) 1050 ± 40 1180±30 8.5±1.5

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Ti-6Al-4V SR SLM Horizontal (XYZ) 1.1 -14.3 1145 ± 17 1187 ± 10 7 ± 2.7 [80]

Vertical (ZXY) 1132 ± 13 1156 ± 13 8 ± 0.4

Ti-6Al-4V SR Renishaw Horizontal (XYZ) 3.8 -37.1 974 ± 7 1065 ± 21 7.0 ± 0.5 [97]
AM250

Horizontal (XZY) 2.2 22.6 958 ± 6 1057 ± 8 12.4 ± 0.7

Vertical (ZXY) 937 ± 9 1052 ± 11 9.6 ± 0.9

Ti-6Al-4V HT SLM Horizontal (XYZ) 0.9 -100.0 973 ± 8 996 ± 10 3 ± 0.4 [80]

Vertical (ZXY) 964 ± 7 998 ± 14 6±2

Ti-6Al-4V HT SLM Horizontal (XY) 2.0 11.8 944 ± 8 1036 ± 30 8.5 ± 1 [101]

Vertical (Z) 925 ± 14 1040 ± 4 7.5 ± 2

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IN718 - SLM Horizontal (X/Y) 9.7 -7.9 816 ± 24 1085 ± 11 19.1 ± 0.7 [106]

Vertical (Z) 737 ± 4 1010 ± 10 20.6 ± 2.1

IN718 HT SLM Horizontal (X/Y) 2.9 -9.4 1222 ± 26 1417 ± 4 15.9 ± 1.0 [106]

Vertical (Z) 1186 ± 23 1387 ± 12 17.4 ± 0.4

Al-Si-10Mg As built SLM Horizontal(XY) 0.1 -11.0 169 ± 1 272.8 ± 2.9 8.2 ± 0.3 [107]

Vertical(Z) 168.8 ± 1.3 267 9.1 ± 0.5

Al-12Si As built SLM Horizontal(XY) -1.7 50 270.1 ± 10 325 ± 20 4.4 ± 0.7

Vertical(Z) 274.8 ± 8 296.1 ± 20 2.2 ± 0.3 [108]

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Al-12Si HT SLM Horizontal(XY) 2.0 20.8 153.4 ± 5 228 ± 13 5.3 ± 0.7

Vertical(Z) 150.3 ± 17 210.1 ± 20 4.2 ± 0.3 [108]

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Al-Si-10Mg As-built Concept Horizontal (X/Y) 4.0 16.7 250 330 1.2 [109]
Laser M2

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Vertical (Z) 240 320 1

Al-Si-10Mg - Concept Horizontal(XY) - 37.5 - 391 ± 6 5.55 ± 0.4 [110]

Laser M1

Vertical(Z) - 398 ± 8 3.47 ± 0.6

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CoCrMo As-built Dimetal- Horizontal(XY) 7.1 25.0 738 ± 9.9 1050 ± 12.2 5.2 ± 0.3 [111]
100

Vertical(Z) 685.3 ± 10.5 970 ± 9.8 3.9 ±0.2

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DED systems

Powder-fed deposition

Ti-6Al-4V Machined Trumpf Horizontal (X/Y) 0.0 58.3 950 ± 2 1025 ± 10 12 ± 1 [112]
D

system

Vertical (Z) 950 ± 2 1025 ± 2 5±1

E

Ti-6Al-4V As-built Tritons Horizontal (XYZ) 41.5 73.4 892 ± 10 911 ± 10 6.4 ± 0.6 [96]
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Laser Free-
Form
Fabrication
(LF3)
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Vertical (ZXY) 522 797 ± 27 1.7 ± 0.3

Ti-6Al-4V Machined Tritons Horizontal (XYZ) 2.6 29.6 984 ± 25 1069 ± 19 5.4 ± 1 [96]
Laser Free-
Form
Fabrication
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(LF3)

Vertical (ZXY) 958 ± 14 1026 ± 17 3.8 ± 0.9

TC21(Ti6Al HT LAM Horizontal (X/Y) 2.6 -471.4 868 997 2.8 [113]
2Sn2Zr3Mo
1.5Cr2Nb)

Vertical (Z) 845 933 16

Ti-6Al-4V Machined DED Horizontal (YZX) 0.2 -28.4 960 ± 26 1063 ± 20 10.9 ± 1.4 [10]

Vertical 958 ± 19 1064 ± 26 14 ± 1

Ti-6Al-4V ASTM As-cast >758 >860 >8 [114]

F1472

Ti-6Al-4V ASTM Wrought >860 >930 >10 [115]

F1108
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CoCrMo ASTM As-cast 450 655 8 [116]

F75

CoCrMo ASTM Wrought 517 897 20 [117]

F1537

Al-Si-10Mg As-cast 160 325 3 [118]

IN718 AMS As-cast 758 802 5 [119]

5382

IN718 AMS Wrought 1034 1241 10 [119]

5662

* SR = stress-relieved, HT = heat-treated, HIP = hot isostatic pressing

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3.2.3 Fracture toughness

Fracture toughness is a property describing the ability of a material containing a crack

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to resist fracture [120, 121]. Table 4 compiles the reported fracture toughness values of some

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metal AM parts from a variety of studies. In both SLM-built and EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V,
anisotropy in fracture toughness was reported [23]. Anisotropy in fracture toughness had a
strong influence on the propagation path of cracks [122]. In horizontally orientated samples,
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cracks propagated through the columnar grains while in vertically orientated samples, cracks
propagated along the columnar grain boundary instead [23]. It is worth to note that the fracture
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toughness of EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V, was comparable to the ASM standard of 44-66 MPa m1/2
and 88-110 MPa m1/2 for wrought and cast Ti-6Al-4V, respectively [123, 124]. The lower
toughness values observed in SLM-built Ti-6Al-4V is due to the fine acicular α martensitic
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microstructure that is brittle as compared to the α/β duplex microstructure observed in the
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EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V [125].

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Additionally, residual stresses within the metal AM parts can lead to anisotropy in
fracture toughness [80]. Such residual stresses can be reduced by post heat treatment processes
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such as HIP or stress relief treatment. A study based on SLM Ti-6Al-4V observed an increase
in fracture toughness and the loss in anisotropy after HIP and stress relief heat treatments for
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SLM-built Ti-6Al-4V [80]. A study on EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V however reported a decrease in

fracture toughness after heat treatment processes, which was due to the coarsening of the
microstructure [23]. Thus, understanding of the as-built microstructures for the different metal
AM systems is important in determining the post heat treatment schemes in order to achieve
superior fracture toughness.

Table 4. Summary of fracture toughness of various metal AM parts.

Anisotropy in
Fracture toughness
Material Condition Process Orientation fracture Ref.
(MPa √m)
toughness (%)
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Powder-bed fusion

Electron beam based

Ti-6Al-4V As-built Arcam A1 Horizontal (Y-X-B, X-Y-B) 110±7.4 [81]

7.3
Vertical (Z-X-M, Z-Y-M) 102±8.9

Ti-6Al-4V As-built Arcam A2 Horizontal (X-Z-E, X-Y-B, Y-X-B) 67-80 [24]

18.8
Vertical (Z-X-M) 65

Laser Beam based

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Ti-6Al-4V As-built SLM Horizontal (X-Y-B) 28±2 [80]
17.9
Vertical (X-Z-E, Z-X-M) 16-23

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Ti-6Al-4V As-built MTT 250 Horizontal (Y-X-B) 66.9±2.6 [125]
3.1

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Vertical (Z-X-M, Z-Y-M) 41.8-64.8±16.9

Ti-6Al-4V SR SLM Horizontal (X-Y-B) 28±2 [80]

-10.7
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Vertical (X-Z-E, Z-X-M) 30-31±2

Ti-6Al-4V HT SLM Horizontal (X-Y-B) 41±2 [80]

-19.5
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Vertical (X-Z-E, Z-X-M) 49±2

Al-12Si As-built SLM Horizontal (X-Y-B) 18.8 46.7 [108]

Vertical (X-Z-E, Z-X-M) 37.9

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Al-12Si HT SLM Horizontal (X-Y-B) 11.1 21.7 [108]

E

Vertical (X-Z-E, Z-X-M) 19.3

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3.2.4 Compressive properties

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Compressive testing was also commonly used to evaluate the mechanical properties of
metal AM parts [44, 126, 127]. A study on SLM-built tantalum alloy reported that compressive
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yield strength was higher in the vertical direction as compared to that in the horizontal direction.
This is attributed to the varying crystallographic textures [69]. The mechanical properties of
SLM tantalum alloy were found to be better than those fabricated by either electron beam
furnace or powder metallurgy despite the anisotropic tensile strength [69]. Anisotropy in
mechanical properties can be designed into a part through structural design [128]. A study on
EBM builds (Ti-6Al-4V) showed that different lattice designs exhibited varying degrees of
anisotropy [56]. Anisotropy in compressive strength was shown to be dependent on the unit
size of the lattice structure [129].

3.2.5 Fatigue properties

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The evaluation of fatigue properties is critical to understand how metal AM parts fail
under cyclic loading. Table 5 provides a summary of the published data regarding fatigue
properties of metal AM parts. It can be observed that higher fatigue strengths were exhibited
in the horizontal orientation as compared to the vertical orientation in PBF systems. In general,
SLM fabricated parts exhibited a higher Paris slope as compared to the counterparts EBM,
indicating a higher fatigue crack growth rate [9]. The cycles to failure of the as-fabricated metal
AM parts are significantly lower as compared to their wrought equivalent, due to the rough

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build surface and the presence of internal defects acting as crack initiation sites [9]. However,
the fatigue strength of metal AM parts can be improved through post heat treatment and surface
machining as shown in Figure 9 [9, 130]. In addition to surface roughness and internal defects,

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fatigue crack propagation was also found to be dependent on the crystallographic orientation

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of the grain containing the crack tip, the number of grain boundaries surrounding it and the
direction of internal residual stress [97, 125].
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Figure 9. Fatigue test results compiled by [130] shows the effect of various post-processing
treatments on improving the fatigue properties of AM-processed Ti-6Al-4V.
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To sum up, it can be concluded that anisotropy in mechanical properties was indeed
exhibited in metal AM parts. Nevertheless, some parts fabricated from certain metal AM
systems could exhibit less anisotropy. This is due to the differences in processing variables that
lead to a more homogenous microstructure and residual stress distribution. Moreover, it is
important to note that post-processing such as surface machining and heat treatment can
effectively improve the comprehensive mechanical properties of metal AM parts to be
comparable and even superior to their cast and wrought equivalents.

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Table 5. Summary of fatigue properties of PBF metal AM Ti-6Al-4V parts and ASTM wrought
Ti-6Al-4V.

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Material Condition Process Test Load Anisotropy in Fatigue Cycles Paris Anisotropy Threshold Ref.
Orientation Ratio fatigue overload (m/cycle) Slope in fatigue (MPa
(R) overload (%) (MPa threshold √m)
√m) (%)

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Electron beam based

Ti-6Al-4V As-built Arcam A2 Horizontal (X- 0.1,0.3, 28.1 63-96 1.4-3.1 33.3 3.5-5.7 [24]
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Z,X-Y) 0.7

Vertical (Z-X) 0.3 69 2.6 3.8

Ti-6Al-4V As-built MTT 250 Horizontal (X- 32.7 33.3 1.2×107 2.61 7.9 6.3 [125]
Y)
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Vertical (X- 22.4-36.0 1.7×107- 2.37-2.45 5.8-5.9

Z,Y-Z) 2.1×107

Laser beam based

D

Ti-6Al-4V As-built SLM Horizontal (X- 5.79×1012 3.37 [80]

Y-B)
E

As-built SLM Vertical (X-Z- 2.08×1012 - 4.17-4.41

E,Z-X-M) 7.51×1012
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Ti-6Al-4V SR SLM Horizontal (X- 9.93×1015 5.84 [80]

Y-B)

SR SLM Vertical (X-Z- 1.16×1011 - 3.24-3.35

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E,Z-X-M) 8.85×1012

Ti-6Al-4V HT SLM Horizontal (X- 2.04×1012 3.83 [80]

Y-B)
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HT SLM Vertical (X-Z- 1.71×1011- 3.11-3.35

E,Z-X-M) 2.58×1011

Ti-6Al-4V Wrought 2.3-4.2 [131,

132]

4. Heterogeneity in metal AM

Given that one of the main advantages of AM is its ability to directly manufacture
complex geometries, understanding the heterogeneity that exists in metal AM parts is equally
important as the anisotropy [20]. A comprehensive set of materials data base would allow
designers better utilize metal AM technologies for more demanding end-use applications [133].
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Microstructural heterogeneity of metal AM parts can arise from differences in morphology,

size, orientation, and chemical composition of phases and grains. Such differences were
resulted from the varying thermal conditions (e.g. thermal gradient and cooling rate) that were
included in different metal AM processes [26, 134, 135].

4.1 Heterogeneity in microstructure

4.1.1 Phase constitution

Difference in phase constitution is an important source of microstructural heterogeneity

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in metal AM parts. For example, in the case of α+β titanium alloys (Ti-6Al-4V), three phases
were often reported, i.e. α phase, β phase and α martensitic phase [85]. Due to the complex

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phase transformation processes [136], it is difficult to predict the phase constitution in AM

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titanium alloys accurately. A thorough study has recently described a complete phase
transformation sequence that Ti-6AL-4V underwent during EBM process [136, 137]. It was
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reported that the cooling rate and build temperature were the two key process conditions to
influence the final phase constitutions in the metal AM parts [136]. The proposed phase
transformation sequence provides a glimpse of the relationship between the complex thermal
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history of the EBM process and the final microstructure obtained. A study on SLM-built Ti-
6Al-4V has also shown microstructural variation along the build direction [138]. It was
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suggested that the microstructural variations were caused by a cyclic thermal history from
successive depositions. Moreover, the top region only exhibited α martensitic phase that
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indicated the as-deposited condition without phase decomposition [138]. Likewise, for the
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CoCr alloys processed with EBM, the elevated build temperature caused the metastable γ-face
centered cubic (fcc) phase transform to the stable ε-hexagonal closed packed (hcp) phase
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during the build process [139, 140], resulting in microstructural heterogeneity along the build
direction as shown in Figure 10 [139].
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A study regarding the build thickness dependent microstructure and mechanical

properties of EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V have reported that the phase constitution highly relied on
the cross-sectional area of the metal AM part [134]. Microstructure of thin cross-sectional area
would have a phase constitution that predominantly consists of brittle martensitic phase while
it would be ductile α+β dual phase for thick cross-sectional area [134]. This is due to the fact
that the thick cross sectional area could retain a higher temperature with to lower cooling rates
[134, 141]. Another study based on DED-built IN718 superalloy has also attributed the
formation of precipitates to cause heterogeneity in hardness [13]. Microstructural heterogeneity
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was thought to be due to solidification segregation, with the presence of niobium along the
grain boundary promoting the heterogeneous nucleation and growth of γ phase [13]. Thus, it
can be seen that the varying phase constitution at different locations for varying geometry may
induce heterogeneity in metal AM parts.

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Figure 10. EBSD phase map (a, c, e) and IPF crystallographic orientation map (b, d, f) on the
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longitudinal cross-section of EBM-built CoCrMo showing variation in phase composition

and grain morphology [140].

4.1.2 Layer banding and microstructure coarsening

Layer bandings is a popular observed phenomenon in metal AM materials [26, 44, 142,
143]. Prior research has shown that in titanium alloys, layer banding was a result of segregation
of vanadium and aluminium. However, a study by Kelly & Kampe revealed no systematic
elemental variation in DED-built Ti-6Al-4V [142], and concluded that such layer bands were
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resulted from the cyclic thermal history that the part experienced after multiple layers’
deposition [26, 143]. A study on wire-fed DED-built Ti-6Al-4V developed a schematic
diagram showing the formation of the layer bands as shown in Figure 11 [142]. Differences in
the microstructure feature (e.g. mean width of α laths) could be clearly observed between the
top and the bottom of a layer band [142]. Despite the unique microstructural morphology, it is
still unclear how such heterogeneity affects Ti-6Al-4V AM parts’ mechanical properties.
Another study conducted by Nakano et al. also reported the layer band in EBM-built Ti-48Al-

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2Nb-Cr alloy and also concluded that this layer bands was resulted from cyclic thermal history.
Moreover, this layer band improves the ductility of Ti-48Al-2Nb-Cr alloy in a certain loading
direction [42].

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Figure 11. Microstructural evolution map of the build as each layer is deposited (reproduced
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from [26, 142]) showing the formation of the layer banding microstructure in DED Ti-6Al-
4V.

4.1.3 Grain Morphology

The grain morphology within metal AM parts has been shown to depend on the process
parameters and materials [67, 72, 84, 144, 145]. Studies on EBM-built IN718 has shown that
site specific control of the grain morphology by varying the processing parameters (e.g. line
offset, speed function) was possible with metal AM [72, 144]. Heterogeneity in grain
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morphology was also observed in EBM-built CoCr parts, due to recrystallization caused by the
high build temperature [140]. While in EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V parts, the increase in columnar
grain width was observed with the increased build height [84]. Additionally, an equiaxed-to-
columnar transition of prior β grains in Ti-6Al-6V was reported at the start of the EBM build
as shown in Figure 12 [84]. It was suggested in the study that the higher heat conductivity of
the start plate material resulted in a higher degree of super cooling which led to the transition
of grain morphology [84].

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Equiaxed-to-columnar grain transition
(a)

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(b)

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Columnar
Grains
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Equiaxed
Grains
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250 µm

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Figure 12. (a) OM micrograph and (b) schematic showing the equiaxed-to-columnar
transition of prior β grains in EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V [84].

4.1.4 Microstructural feature size

Several studies have shown that the microstructure of AM-processed Ti-6Al-4V tended
to become finer at the top region as compared to the bottom [146-148]. While other studies
showed opposite trends instead [11, 84]. Microstructural scale is known to decrease with
increasing cooling rate [149]. There are three main paths that heat was lost in the metal AM
process (1) radially through the surrounding powder bed or environment, (2) vertically
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downwards through the build start plate via conduction and (3) vertically upwards from the top
layer via convection and/or radiation towards the ambient [15, 141]. At the very top region of
the metal AM parts, the fine microstructure is likely due to the high cooling rate induced by
heat loss of convection and radiation and the lack of remelting and thermal cycling that prior
layers experienced [142]. Additionally, microstructural scale was found to be dependent on
cross-sectional thickness due to differences in the hatch lengths and thermal mass as can be
observed in Figure 13 [141, 150, 151]. Coarse microstructure size could be observed in the

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thick cross-sectional parts due to the slow cooling rates within high thermal mass [134]. A
study have also shown that it is possible to induce refinement of microstructure through the use
of in-situ printed heat sinks in EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V [152].

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SEM Micrograph XRD Profile

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Peak shift indicating the
presence of martensitic phase
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Figure 13. SEM images showing the microstructure size with increasing cross-sectional
thickness with their respective XRD profiles (a,e) 1mm, (b,f) 5mm, (c,g) 10mm and (d,h) 20
mm [136] showing the heterogeneous microstructures in EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V.

4.1.5 Processing deficiency

AM processing defects have been reported to contribute to anisotropy in mechanical

properties of metal AM parts such as fracture toughness and tensile strength [9, 101].
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Additionally, there have also been studies reported that such defects were not homogenously
distributed within the build as shown in Figure 14a and b [23]. Unfortunately, the mechanism
for the formation of location specific defects is not well understood yet [153]. The spherical
pore defects with a diameter of 10-50 µm were reported to be due to the trapped gas pore in
gas atomized powders [135, 137, 154]. A study has also shown that such trapped gas porosity
decreased with decreasing speed function parameter of EBM, possibly by allowing more time
for the trapped gas to escape from the slowly moved melt pool [154]. Other processing defects

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such as un-melted powder and layer gaps can also occur during the AM process. HIP treatment
has shown to be able to reduce the amount of such processing defects effectively [9]. Figure
14c shows that the defect density has a significant effect on the fracture toughness of the metal

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AM part [23].

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A study on a SL process reported that defect distribution within the aluminium alloy
sample was not homogenous [14]. A point to note from the study was that region where cracks
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originate did not correspond to the location of voids. Instead, it attributed the mechanism of
the formation of the cracks to the strain localization caused by the high strain rate deformation
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induced from the rotating sonotrode that was used to fuse the metal sheets together [14].

Defect spatial Defect Fracture

distribution histogram toughness
(a)
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Defect volume (b) (c)

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(mm )

Build
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direction
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High-density
defects
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Figure 14. (a) µCT scans showing defects spatial distribution in EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V (b)
defect histogram for the EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V at bottom, middle and top region (c) fracture
toughness variation at the bottom, middle and top region respectively [23] showing the
heterogeneity in fracture toughness correlates with the defect density.

4.1.6 Heterogeneous recrystallization

Post heat treatment is a common method to homogenize the microstructure of the as-

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deposited metal AM part [100, 101]. Figure 15a shows a schematic of how vacuum annealing
treatment can induce homogenous grain recrystallization within SLM-built iron part [155].

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However, a study has reported that partial recrystallization in heat treated SLM-built IN718

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resulted in a heterogeneous grain structure as shown in Figure 15 [156] instead. It was
suggested that heterogeneous residual stresses within the metal AM parts may account for such
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partial recrystallization [20]. Moreover, homogeneous grains sizes (~500-3000 µm) were found
in DED-built Ti-6Al-4V after post heat treatment [157]. Of note is that such post-processing
procedures for metal AM parts may have to take into account of both the materials and
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manufacturing techniques.
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Figure 15. (a) Schematic diagram of typical homogenous grain evolution during the grain
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recrystallization phenomenon [155]. (b) 3D Optical Micrograph (OM) composite view of the
SLM-built IN718 microstructure [156] showing the heterogeneity in microstructure caused
by heterogeneous recrystallization.
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4.2 Heterogeneity in mechanical properties

4.2.1 Tensile properties

Table 6 lists the differences in tensile strength along the build direction of the AM Ti-
6Al-4V by various studies [10, 11, 84, 99, 158-161]. Higher tensile properties were reported in
the lower half of the block samples as compared to the upper half, which was attributed to
oxygen strengthening and finer microstructure [10, 11]. The tensile strength of Ti-6Al-4V parts
typically increases with increasing oxygen content and finer microstructure [112, 162].

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Furthermore, a study on EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V also reported an increase in strain hardening
effect with increasing built height due to lesser annealing [84].

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Table 6. Summary of tensile properties of various metal AM parts.
Yield Strength Ultimate Tensile Elongation
Material Condition Process Position Ref.
(MPa) Strength (MPa) (%)
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Ti-6Al-4V Machined DED Upper half 945 1041 14.5 [10]

Lower half 970 1087 13.6

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Ti-6Al-4V Machined EBM Upper half 859.3 942.4 18.8 ± 2.5 [11, 99]

Lower half 898.9 976.6 17.9 ± 0.7

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Ti-6Al-4V
Machined EBM Upper half 823-827 940-944 13.2 [84]
ELI
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Lower half 836-851 953-964 16.3

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Ti-6Al-4V
Machined EBM Upper half 903.6 ± 24.6 991.8 ± 21.7 16.4 ± 0.8 [158]
ELI
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Lower half 911.9 ± 34.3 995.5 ± 28.5 13.5 ± 0.4

Ti-6Al-4V
Machined EBM Upper half 986.5 1050.5 14.3 [159]
ELI
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Lower half 987.5 1056.5 12.7

Ti-6Al-4V Machined EBM Upper half 991.1 ± 9.3 1065.9 ± 10.2 14.6 ± 0.1 [160]

Lower half 990.9 ± 22.5 1056± 24.2 16.7 ± 1.0

Ti-6Al-4V Machined DMLS Upper half 1059 1221 4.8 [161]

Lower half ~1167 ~1281 ~2.6

4.2.2 Hardness
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Hardness testing is an effective method to characterize the localized mechanical

strength of metal AM parts. Table 7 summarised of hardness properties of various AM metal
alloys. A recent study has shown that Vickers microhardness correlated well with the
microstructural features of AM titanium alloy and it obeyed the Hall-Petch’s relationship [134].
Studies have been carried out to investigate the effect of cross-sectional area on hardness values
[15, 83, 134]. An earlier study reported that the effect of metal AM part size on the
microhardness was little, possibly due to the insufficient thermal isolation between them [83].

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While a recent study reported that hardness property was dependent on cross-sectional area
[15, 134, 141]. It was shown that with increasing cross-sectional area, the microhardness was
decreased due to microstructural coarsening [15, 40, 90, 134, 141]. The rationale for the

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microstructural coarsening is due to greater thermal input and slower cooling rates experienced

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by the part with the thicker cross-sectional area [15, 141]. The study also showed that
differences in the 2D-planar geometry had an influence on the microhardness as well due to
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differences in heat flux. Studies have also been conducted on the effect of built height on the
hardness [15, 83, 84]. However, such studies showed conflicting results. For example, a study
by Hrabe et al. [83] reported no significant differences in Vickers microhardness values up to
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25 mm from the substrate while the study from Tan et al. [84] showed that there were
differences in the Vickers microhardness values with build height.
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Tan et al. reported that Vickers microhardness decreased in value with increasing build
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height in EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V [84]. It was suggested that due to the higher cooling rate
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induced by the higher thermal conductivity of the stainless steel substrate. The microstructure
at the bottom region was finer as compared to the top region. However, Wang et al.
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systematically examined the microhardness within an impeller component [15]. The study
reported that microhardness value was increased with increasing build height. It must be noted
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that the part in Wang et al. work had a decreasing cross-sectional area with increasing build
height. The difference in cross-sectional area may contribute to that result.

Many studies have thus concluded that heterogeneity in hardness values was dependent
on the thermal input experience by the specific layer. A larger cross-sectional area would result
in a higher thermal input as compared to a smaller cross-sectional area, resulting in different
final microstructures. Future improvement on varying the process parameters with regards to
the cross-sectional area could help alleviate such heterogeneity in hardness.

Table 7. Summary of hardness properties of various metal AM parts.

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Material Process/Model Microhardness (Hv) Distance Measured from Ref.

the substrate (mm)

Ti-6Al-4V EBM/Arcam S400 ~460-360 ~68 [146]

Ti-6Al-4V EBM/Arcam S12 347 2-25 [83]

Ti-6Al-4V EBM/Arcam A2XX 319±5-327±5 24

[84]
ELI

Ti-6Al-4V EBM/Arcam A2X 343-365 4-35 [15]

Ti-6Al-4V EBM/Arcam A2X 380 0-4.5 [43]

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Ti-6Al-4V EBM/Arcam A2 ~368 0-110
[159]
ELI

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Ti-6Al-4V EBM/Arcam A2X ~340 ~13 [11]

Pure Cu EBM/Arcam A2 57-88 N.A. [163]

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AlCoCrFeNi EBM/Arcam A2X 400-500 0-16 [164]

SS316L EBM/Arcam S12 184 ± 11 2

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[165]

IN718 EBM/Arcam S12 241 ± 12 2 [165]

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Al-8.5Fe- EBM/Arcam A2X 153 ± 2.5 N.A.

[166]
1.3V-1.7Si

Ti-6Al-4V SLM/ Concept Laser M2 360 N.A. [167]

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SS316L SLM/SLM 250 HL 213-220 N.A. [47]

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IN718 SLM/LSNF-I 365 1.3-2.4 [168]

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Al-8.5Fe- SLM/DEYU LM 200 SLM 135-175 N.A.

[169]
1.3V-1.7Si
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4.2.3 Fracture toughness

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Location dependence in fracture toughness has been observed in EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V

due to the heterogeneity in the microstructure and defect distribution [9]. A related study also
performed HIP process to investigate its effect on the heterogeneity in fracture toughness [23].
However, the measured fracture toughness was found to be lesser due to coarsening of the
microstructure after the HIP process and the heterogeneity observed was not eliminated.

In summary, it can be deduced that anisotropy and heterogeneity in the mechanical

properties of metal AM parts are due to the anisotropic and heterogeneous microstructure and
material properties. Despite the anisotropy and heterogeneity in the mechanical properties, it
can be concluded that the mechanical properties of post-processed metal AM parts are
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equivalent or better as compared to their cast equivalent. Further improvement regarding the
optimization of heat treatment process parameters is highly demanded to produce end-use parts
with fine microstructure in order to approach the static and dynamic mechanical properties of
their wrought equivalent.

5. Modelling on anisotropy and heterogeneity

Numerical modelling of the thermal conditions of AM processes allows a better
understanding of the anisotropic and heterogeneous microstructure which determines the final

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mechanical properties. An early study has developed a thermos-kinetic model of multilayer
laser-based powder deposition, coupled FE heat transfer calculations, phase transformation

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data, and microstructure-property relationships, showing the increase in Vickers hardness with
increasing build height and with minimizing substrate size [170]. Numerical modelling has also

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been used to simulate beam power-velocity (P-V) process maps and solidification maps in an
effort to control the microstructure for various metal AM processes as shown earlier in Figure
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5c and d.

Other studies have also developed heat transfer and microstructural evolution equations
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for EBM-built Ti-6Al-4V showing that the heat transfer arising from the selective melting was
sufficient to induce microstructure evolution through several layers below. Figure 16 shows an
FEM model of the temperature variation of metal AM parts with varying thicknesses along the
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build height and the evolution of volume fraction of α phase due to the variations in the
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temperature field within the metal AM part [134, 171]. It provides a firm support to
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experimental works regarding the phase constitution and microstructural coarsening [142,
171].
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A recent study has also developed a model that was capable of calculating fraction,
morphology and size of phases, with a measured or modelled thermal history in AM-processed
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Ti-6Al-4V [172]. With the more research focusing on modelling metal AM processes, a better
understanding of the interrelationship between process-microstructure-mechanical properties
can be achieved.
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Temperature variations
caused by a melt pool with
different build thicknesses Evolution of the temperature field
(a) (b)

Moving melt pool

Top

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Sample Positions

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Middle

Evolution of the volume fraction of α phase

(c) α phase (orange) β phase (blue)

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Bottom

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E D

Figure 16. Temperature evolution curves with respect to time for the positions of (a) top, (b)
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middle, and (c) bottom of the sample. Evolution of the (d) temperature field and (e) volume
fraction of α phase after deposition of 4 layers of powder [134, 171] showing the possibility
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of using numerical simulations to model the anisotropic and heterogenous microstructure that
is formed in metal AM parts.
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Concluding remarks

Metal AM became a competitive manufacturing process to conventional manufacturing

techniques such as machining and casting with regards to the fabrication of components with
complex geometries out of hard to process materials (e.g. titanium alloys). Metal AM processes
could be broadly categorized as powder-bed fusion (PBF), directed energy deposition (DED)
and sheet lamination (SL). During the layer-by-layer fabrication, the metallic part was
subjected to processing variables such as deposition rate, beam power, build environment and
 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT

processing temperature which have an influence towards its final microstructure and
mechanical properties. In general, despite the reported anisotropy and heterogeneity, the quasi-
static mechanical properties (e.g. tensile strength and hardness) of metal AM parts often could
meet the minimum requirements in comparison with their cast and wrought equivalents.
However, post processing of metal AM parts must be implemented to obtain comparable
dynamic mechanical properties (e.g. fatigue properties) as conventionally produced parts. Such
post processing techniques are currently a costly means to control the anisotropic and

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heterogeneous microstructure within metal AM parts.

It can be deduced via the published datum summarized in this article, that the cause for

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the anisotropic and heterogeneous microstructure and mechanical properties of metal AM parts
was due to either microstructural features or defects. The influencing factors for the anisotropy

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and heterogeneity in the microstructure include: (1) grain morphology; (2) crystallographic
texture; (3) lack-of-fusion defects; (4) phase transformation; (5) heterogeneous
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recrystallization; (6) layer banding and (7) microstructural coarsening. These factors were
systematically discussed in terms of the processing variables within the metal AM process.
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Given the current state-of-the-art in metal AM, it is difficult to vary the processing variables
in-situ with respect to a part’s geometry and size so as to control its microstructure. However,
with continued development in this technology, it is likely that better control over the
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processing variables during the fabrication process can be achieved.

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Literatures have shown that microstructural modification of AM metallic materials can

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be achieved via the use of a roller mechanism that applied a load after each deposited layer or
through the use of in-situ printed heat sink. Traditionally, adjusting the build orientation and
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specifying a minimum cross-sectional thickness were ways to reduce the effect of the
anisotropy and heterogeneity in material properties. Moreover, it was widely shown that
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horizontally orientated AM parts typically had a higher mechanical strength as compared to

vertically orientated ones. As such if the build part is horizontally orientated along the load
direction and that fine geometrical features are scaled up to increase mechanical strength, the
anisotropy and heterogeneity might be effectively minimised or even eliminated.

Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful for financial support provided by A*STAR Industrial Additive
Manufacturing Program: Work Package 3 (Electron Beam Melting, Grant No. 1325504103).
We also acknowledge the financial support from Singapore Centre for 3D Printing funded by
the National Research Foundation.
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Graphical abstract

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Highlights

 The major metal AM systems and their processing conditions

 Contributing factors on anisotropy and heterogeneity of microstructure and

mechanical properties in metal AM parts

 A critical review on anisotropic and heterogeneous mechanical properties of

various metal AM parts

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 State-of-the-art development in numerical modelling to predict anisotropy and
heterogeneity in metal AM parts

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