Titanium alloys, widely used in the aerospace, automotive and energy sectors, require complex casting and thermomechanical processing to achieve the high strengths required for load-bearing applications. Here we reveal that additive manufacturing can exploit thermal cycling and rapid solidification to create ultrastrong and thermally stable titanium alloys, which may be directly implemented in service. As demonstrated in a commercial titanium alloy, after simple post-heat treatment, adequate elongation and tensile strengths over 1,600 MPa are achieved. The excellent properties are attributed to the unusual formation of dense, stable and internally twinned nanoprecipitates, which are rarely observed in traditionally processed titanium alloys. These nanotwinned precipitates are shown to originate from a high density of dislocations with a dominant screw character and formed from the additive manufacturing process. The work here paves the way to fabricate structural materials with unique microstructures and excellent properties for broad applications.

广泛用于航空航天、汽车和能源领域的钛合金需要复杂的铸造和热机械加工才能达到承重应用所需的高强度。在这里，我们揭示了增材制造可以利用热循环和快速凝固来制造超强和热稳定的钛合金，这些钛合金可以直接投入使用。正如在商用钛合金中所证明的那样，经过简单的后热处理后，可以实现足够的伸长率和超过 1,600 MPa 的抗拉强度。优异的性能归因于不寻常的致密、稳定和内部孪晶纳米沉淀物的形成，这在传统加工的钛合金中很少观察到。这些纳米孪晶沉淀物显示出源自具有显性螺旋特征的高密度位错，并由增材制造工艺形成。这里的工作为制造具有独特微观结构和广泛应用的优异性能的结构材料铺平了道路。