The recent breakthroughs of Additive Manufacturing (AM) have shed light on the ever more versatile technologies this term encompasses. AM, popularly known as 3D printing, offers distinct benefits compared to traditional manufacturing, such as reduced design constraints, “complexity for free” and waste reduction. This “bottom-up” strategy differs from the more constraining “top-down” approach used in traditional manufacturing. Among the many AM processes developed for metals, Electron Beam Melting (EBM) and Selective Laser Melting (SLM) are powder-bed fusion processes allowing complex three-dimensional geometries to be produced from the selective melting of successive layers of metal powder. EBM and SLM are the two most widely used AM processes for the production of critical Ti-6Al-4V parts, particularly for the biomedical and aeronautic industries. Despite their many advantages, these technologies present severe limitations that remain to be addressed. These include the presence of build defects in the material and a high surface roughness, which is inherent to powder-bed fusion processes.Moreover, the microstructure of as-built EBM or SLM Ti-6Al-4V is far from being optimized. In order to improve the material properties of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V parts, postprocess treatments can be considered. This thesis aims at investigating the impact of such treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V produced by EBM. After characterizing the microstructure, texture, and tensile properties of as-built Ti-6Al-4V, the effect of standard post-treatments, such as Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) and surface machining, are quantified on simple geometries. The interest of HIP is clearly demonstrated, especially when combined to improvement of the surface finish via machining. The removal of critical defects from both the bulk and the surface results in a substantial increase in ductility. Removal of the rough surface via machining also increases the mechanical efficiency of the parts. Regarding microstructural optimization, considering the impossibility of applying hot working on near-net shape parts as a major limitation, innovative heat treatments have to be specifically developed for additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V. In this thesis, dual-phase alpha+alpha’ microstructures are generated, by performing subtransus annealing followed by water quenching. Depending on the annealing temperature, a broad range of mechanical properties are obtained. For annealing temperatures of 900 to 920°C, a simultaneous increase in ultimate tensile strength and ductility is achieved. The existence of a mechanical contrast between the soft alpha’ martensite and the harder alpha phase is clearly demonstrated and partly explains the remarkable work-hardening behaviour of this heterogeneous material. Further annealing of this out-of equilibrium alpha+alpha’ microstructure generates various microstructures. In the continuous process of martensite decomposition, precipitation hardening strengthens the alpha’ phase. Eventually, bimodal microstructures consisting in coarse primary alpha and fine secondary alpha+alpha' can be engineered, without involving any hot working in the process. Post-processing is also performed on more complex structures, namely additively manufactured lattices. Since machining cannot be performed on such intricate geometries, a chemical etching procedure inducing a substantial and homogeneous decrease in surface roughness is developed. Dissolution of surface defects results in an improvement of the mechanical efficiency of the structure. As a result, when chemical etching is performed, the relative stiffness approaches that of an ideal structure. Performing subtransus annealing and water quenching in order to induce a dual-phase alpha+alpha’ microstructure substantially increases the ability of these structures to absorb energy during compression. This thesis demonstrates the interest of developing post-process treatments specifically for near-net shape additively manufactured parts. Such treatments partially address critical issues of powder bed AM, expanding the range of possible applications of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V. / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur et technologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

In response to serious environmental and economic concerns, the design and production of aircrafts have been changing profoundly over the past decades with the nose-to-tail switch from metallic materials to lightweight composite materials such as carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). In this context, the present doctoral research work aimed to contribute to the development of a CFRP booster casing, a real innovation in the field initiated and conducted by Safran Aero Boosters. More specifically, this thesis addresses the matter of joining metal/CFRP hybrid structures, which are prone to possibly detrimental residual stresses.The issue is treated with an approach combining experimental characterisation and finite element (FE) simulations. The multi-layered system’s state of damage was systematically examined on hundreds of micrographs, and the outcome of this study is presented under the form of a statistical analysis. Further, the defects’ 3D morphology is investigated by incremental polishing. A number of thermal and mechanical properties are measured by diverse physical tests on part of the constituent materials, i.e. the aerospace grade RTM6 epoxy resin, the structural Redux 322 epoxy film adhesive, and AISI 316L stainless steel. They are used as input data in a FE model of the multilayer that is developed and progressively refined to obtain detailed residual stress fields after thermal loading. These results are compared to experimental data acquired by X-ray diffraction stress analysis and with the curvature-based Stoney formula. Cohesive elements are placed at specific locations within the FE model to allow simulating progressive damage. Peel tests, mode I, mode II and mixed mode I/II fracture tests are thus performed in view of measuring the joint toughness. The results of these tests are discussed and the presence of residual stress in the fracture specimens is highlighted. Key information for the calibration of the cohesive law is finally identified via inverse FE analysis of the mode I test, this being a significant step in the process of building a damage predictive FE model of the multi-layered system. / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur et technologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished