Small Punch Testing to Estimate Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Ti-6Al-4V

Published

June 18, 2020

Author(s)

Enrico Lucon, Jake T. Benzing, Nikolas W. Hrabe

Abstract

Small Punch (SP) testing is a methodology that uses tiny disks (generally 8 mm in diameter and 0.5 mm thick) to estimate mechanical properties of metallic materials, such as tensile properties, fracture toughness, and ductile-to-brittle transition temperature. Empirical correlations are typically used to infer conventional mechanical properties from characteristic forces and displacements obtained from the test record. Most of the available literature relates to SP testing of steels, while relatively little is available for other metallic materials. At NIST in Boulder, Colorado, we conducted SP tests on additively manufactured (AM) Ti-6Al-4V with different processing parameters and heat treatment conditions. Force/punch displacement curves appeared different than those typically reported for conventionally manufactured steels, and correlations with tensile parameters were generally weaker than those published for steel samples. It appears that the application of the SP technique (characterized by a biaxial loading mode) to materials with high anisotropy such as AM materials may be somewhat problematic and therefore of limited applicability.

Citation

Technical Note (NIST TN) - 2096

Report Number

2096

NIST Pub Series

Technical Note (NIST TN)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

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DOI Link

Keywords

Additive manufacturing, empirical correlations, fracture toughness, Small Punch, tensile properties, Ti-6Al-4V

Citation

Lucon, E. , Benzing, J. and Hrabe, N. (2020), Small Punch Testing to Estimate Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Ti-6Al-4V, Technical Note (NIST TN), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.TN.2096 (Accessed November 3, 2025)