Grain-size control in Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb with yttrium additions

A gas-atomized (GA) prealloyed powder of the Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb intermetallic and 1.6 wt pct Y were mechanically alloyed (MA) and hot isostatically pressed (hipped) to produce a fully dense nanocrystalline material. Mechanical alloying of the as-blended powder for 16 hours resulted in the formation of a disordered fcc phase. Hipping of the alloy powder produced a single-phase nanocrystalline TiAl intermetallic, containing a distribution of 20 to 35-nm-sized Al₂Y₄O₉ particles. The formation of oxide particles occurred by the chemical combination of Al and Y with oxygen, which entered as a contaminant during milling. Oxide particles increased the hardness of the intermetallic compound and minimized grain growth even at 0.8 T _m , where T _m is the melting point of the compound.     

The mechanism of formation of a fine duplex microstructure in Ti-48Al-2Mn-2Nb alloys

The mechanism of formation of the fine duplex microstructure resulting from the α → γ transformation in water-quenched Ti-48Al-2Mn-2Nb alloys was studied using transmission and analytical electron microscopy. As-cast Ti-48Al-2Mn-2Nb alloys were heat treated in the α phase field and water quenched to room temperature. The resulting microstructure (referred to as a fine duplex microstructure) consisted of equiaxed grains and abutting lath colonies. Both the colonies and the grains were composed of the γ phase, twinned γ laths, and α₂ laths. It was found that the transformation from α to γ in the fine duplex microstructure took place through long range diffusional processes, and compctitive growth between the equiaxed and lath morphology occurred. Nucleation of they phase from the α matrix can occur through nucleation on stacking faults, followed by growth through the sympathetic nucleation and growth of new γ laths on a substrate lath. The observed misorientations and the interfacial structures between the laths were found to be consistent with such a mechanism. Compctition between such nucleation and growth mechanisms for the equiaxed and lath morphologies of γ leads to the formation of lath colonies (of γ and α₂) interspersed with equiaxed grains in these alloys. Formerly Visiting Scientist, Metals and Ceramics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory This article is based on a presentation made during TMS/ASM Materials Week in the symposium entitled “Atomistic Mechanisms of Nucleation and Growth in Solids,” organized in honor of H.I. Aaronson’s 70th Anniversary and given October 3–5, 1994, in Rosemont, Illinois.     

Development of Non-reactive Mold for Investment Casting of Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb Alloys

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - The interfacial reactions between liquid Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb and various shell mold materials were investigated, and a cost-effective shell mold, containing...     

Study of microstructure and solute partitioning in a cast Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy by quenching during directional solidification technique

One major hindrance to effective implementation of cast gamma TiAl-based intermetallic alloys in aircraft engines lies in the variability of their mechanical properties resulting from chemical and microstructural heterogeneities. In the present work, the buildup of microsegregation in a cast Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy is investigated through experiments of quenching during directional solidification (QDS). The solidification process, as well as the partitioning of alloying elements, between the solid and liquid phases, is investigated. Considering experimental conditions, the α-hcp phase is found to be the primary solidifying phase. A low dendrite tip temperature of 1475 °C was estimated from thermal recordings. These observations could be explained considering the value of the thermal gradient (around 4 °C/mm). Quantitative values of partition coefficients are proposed for Al, Cr, and Nb. In addition to Al, Cr is found to segregate in interdendritic regions, whereas Nb tends to be retained in the Ti-rich inner dendrites. Considering experimental cumulative solute distributions, the buildup of microsegregation can be satisfactorily represented on the basis of Gulliver-Scheil assumptions. Due to high-temperature quenching, the QDS experiments are also found to be appropriate to the study of high-temperature phase transformations and microstructural development of TiAl-based alloys. The results of QDS experiments are discussed with regard to the range of microstructural and chemical heterogeneities determined within Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb investment castings. Finally, regarding solid-state phase transformations subsequent to solidification, the study attempts to explain the formation of B2 phase particles stabilized by the ternary additions. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Fundamentals of Structural Intermetallics,” presented at the 2002 TMS Annual Meeting, February 17–21, 2002, in Seattle, Washington, under the auspices of the ASM and TMS Joint Committee on Mechanical Behavior of Materials.     

Autogenous gas tungsten arc weldability of cast alloy Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb (atomic percent) versus extruded alloy Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb-0.9Mo (atomic percent)

This study examines procedures for consistently producing sound (crack and void free) welds using the autogenous (without filler metal) gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding process. Cast alloy Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb (at. pct) and extruded alloy Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb-0.9Mo (at. pct) have been examined to determine if sound welds can be produced using autogenous GTA welding without any preheat. Experimentation consisted of GTA spot welding samples of gamma titanium aluminide at weld current levels of 45, 55, 65, and 75 A for a duration of 3 seconds. For the cast alloy, current levels of 45, 55, and 65 A for 3 seconds produced similar fusion zone microstructures, which consisted of a dendritic solidification structure. The fusion zone microstructure of the 75 A for 3 seconds current level differed significantly from the lower current levels. It also consisted of a dendritic solidification structure; however, the morphology was quite different. For the extruded alloy, current levels of 45 and 55 A for 3 seconds produced fusion zone microstructures similar to the lower current level samples of the cast γ-TiAl, which consisted of a dendritic solidification structure. The fusion zone microstructures of the 65 and 75 A samples were similar to each other, but they had a dendritic solidification structure of a different morphology than that of the 45 and 55 A samples. For both alloys at all current levels, microhardness profiles showed an increase in hardness from the base metal to the fusion zone. There were no significant differences in the average fusion zone hardness as a function of increasing current level. However, nanoindentation testing did show that certain phases and microconstituents in the fusion zone did have significant variations in hardness in relation to the enrichment and depletion of chromium. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium “Fundamentals of Gamma Titanium Aluminides,” presented at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 10–12, 1997, Orlando, Florida, under the auspices of the ASM/MSD Flow & Fracture and Phase Transformations Committees.     

Interplay between oxidation and wear behavior of the Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb-1B alloy

This study deals with some aspects of the dry sliding behavior of a gamma TiAl-based alloy with the following composition: Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb-1B (at. pct). The tribological system consisted of an AISI M2 steel disk sliding against TiAl alloy sheets. Different alloy microstructures—duplex, equiaxed, and lamellar—were considered, in order to check for their possible effect on the wear behavior. At low loads, a mainly abrasive mechanism was inferred from the phases present in the debris collected at the end of each test. An additional contribution from oxidational phenomena was found at higher loads. In such conditions, the equiaxed samples displayed a slightly better wear resistance. A remarkable improvement in wear resistance was observed when the alloy specimens were tested without a preliminary removal of the surface layer which resulted from the heat treatments carried out to obtain different microstructures. Again, some differences were found in the wear behavior of alloys with different microstructures. In this case, though, the difference can rather be attributed to the different morphology of the surface layers. Better performances were observed in those samples, both duplex and equiaxed, in which a good mechanical matching between the alloy and the outer scale was accomplished, thanks to the presence of a hardened interdiffusion zone. An aspect which should be considered further is the tribological coupling of the as-treated alloys. Indeed, the elevated hardness and surface roughness of the coating yields a significant wear of the sliding counterface.     

Primary creep behavior of Ti-48Al-2W as a function of stress and lamellar morphology

The fully lamellar microstructure of powder metallurgy Ti-48Al-2W after cooling from the α region to 1280 °C, followed by air cooling and aging at 950 °C for up to 96 hours, is presented. Aging times as short as 5 hours result in acicular-shaped precipitates of W-rich β ₀ along lamellar interfaces, with the β ₀ size increasing with aging time. The β ₀ precipitates nucleate and grow in the α ₂ lamellae. Concurrently, with the formation of β ₀, the α ₂ decomposes into discontinuous lamellae. Aging to precipitate β ₀ along lamellar interfaces increases the 760 °C tensile strength (with a slight reduction of ductility) and reduces the instantaneous creep strain, since β ₀ precipitates at lamellar interfaces hinder interface dislocation mobility. The deformed microstructures from interrupted creep tests at 140 to 276 MPa at 760 °C indicate that the precipitation of β ₀ along interfaces substantially reduces the primary creep strain, primarily due to the influence of β ₀ on interface dislocation emission and motion. These results are discussed in terms of the influence of lamellar morphology on the instantaneous creep strain and primary creep transient, and the possible creep mechanisms are highlighted. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Fundamentals of Structural Intermetallics,” presented at the 2002 TMS Annual Meeting, February 21–27, 2002, in Seattle, Washington, under the auspices of the ASM and TMS Joint Committee of Mechanical Behavior of Materials.     

Improvement in mechanical properties of dental cast Ti-6Al-7Nb by thermochemical processing

Hydrogenation and dehydrogenation, that is, thermochemical processing (THP) and its variation with a post-heat treatment (THPH), are investigated in order to improve the balance of strength, elongation, and fatigue strength of cast Ti-6Al-7Nb and Ti-6Al-4V for dental applications. Microstructures of both cast alloys change from coarse Widmanst?tten α structure to super fine α structure with an average diameter of 3 μm by conducting THP or THPH. Tensile strength and fatigue limit of cast Ti-6Al-7Nb and Ti-6Al-4V increase by around 10 and 40 pct, respectively, as compared with those of both as-cast alloys. The balance of strength and ductility of cast Ti-6Al-7Nb is improved by conducting THPH as compared with the case where THP is conducted. This improvement is due to the plastic deformability of unstable β phase because the lattice constant of β phase in each alloy conducted with THPH is much greater than that of each as-cast alloy.     

Elimination of inclusions and evaporation control during melting of Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb-1B intermetallic alloy

Titanium aluminide intermetallic compounds have an excellent capability for use in engineering structures at high temperatures. In the present work the formation of Nb rich inclusions in microstructure and evaporation of Al during melting of γ-TiAl based alloy (Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb-1B (at %)) was studied. The results show that the inclusions cannot be removed even with a four-stage melting process, when elemental Nb is used as raw material. However, by replacing Nb with NbAl₃ and using a three-stage melting process, the inclusions were removed from microstructure and also evaporation of Al was reduced remarkably. Otherwise, with removing elemental Al from raw material by using TiAl compound, evaporation of Al will be very low. Increasing vessel pressure from 400 to 600 mbar will not influence evaporation of Al. The article is published in the original.     

不同熔炼条件下B、C元素对Ti-47Al-2Cr-2Nb合金铸态组织的影响

研究了不同熔炼条件下B、C元素对Ti-47Al-2Cr-2Nb合金的铸态组织的影响。研究结果表明：B、C元素的添加显著地细化了Tim基合金的组织片层,C元素的细化效果优于B元素。在所研究的精炼时间内,无论添加微量元素B还是C元素,精炼时间为30min时获得的铸锭组织中片层最细。     

应变速率对全层状TiAl基合金室温拉伸性能的影响

以Ti-47Al-2Cr(摩尔分数,％)合金为对象,研究了应变速率对不同晶团尺寸的全层状TiAl基合金室温拉伸性能的影响.结果表明,全层状TiAl基合金的室温强度随应变速率的加快而提高,低延性全层状TiAl基合金的室温延伸率对应变速率不敏感,而高延性全层状TiAl基合金的室温延伸率对应变速率敏感,并随应变速率的加快而提高.     

外加应力对Ti-25Al-10Nb合金显微组织几何特征的影响

利用相场法显微组织模拟研究了外加应力对Ti-25Al-1ONb(摩尔分数/%)合金中a2→O相相变所产生显微组织几何特征的作用.结果表明,当外加应力达到390MPa时,就开始对O相析出形貌具有显著作用.外加应力改变O相析出形貌是因为:(1)外加应力使O相析出的总量增加,(2)外加应力诱发取向有利的O相变体析出并抑制其它O相变体的析出.外加应力大小对O相析出平均尺寸的影响可达106%,并且O相析出的尺寸标准差随外加应力增加而显著增大.     

An investigation of the effects of microstructure on the fatigue and fracture behavior of α2 + β forged Ti-24Al-11Nbforged Ti-24Al-11Nb

The results of a recent study of the effects of Widmanstätten and basket weave microstructures on the fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth behavior of Ti-24Al-11 Nb are reported Intrinsic and extrinsic toughening components due to crack blunting and bridging by the β phase, crack deflection, and microcracking are computed from existing crack-tip shielding models. Predictions of fracture toughness and fatigue thresholds obtained by the superposition of extrinsic toughening components are compared with measured values obtained from compression precraked single edge notch (SEN) bend specimens. The results indicate that the continuity of the β matrix between the α₂ laths is important for the effectiveness of crack-tip blunting mechanisms. Widmanstätten microstructures obtained by annealing solely in the α₂ + β phase field are shown to promote crack deflection and unstable room-temperature fatigue crack growth rates.i.e., crack growth rates that increase after further thermal exposure in the α₂ + β and field. Basket weave microstructures produced by two-stage annealing (TSA) in the β and α₂ + β phase fields are shown to promote crack bifurcation and deflection and significant improvements in fatigue crack growth resistance when the β anneal is followed by a furnacecool. The article highlights the significant role of microcracking in the fatigue propagation mechanism. The micromechanisms of fatigue and fracture are also discussed for the microstructures examined.     

The effect of lamellar morphology on tensile and high-cycle fatigue behavior of orthorhombic Ti-22Al-27Nb alloy

The room-temperature tensile and high-cycle fatigue (HCF) behavior of orthorhombic Ti-22Al-27Nb alloy with varying lamellar morphology was investigated. Varying lamellar morphology was produced by changing the cooling rate after annealing in the single B2 phase region. A slower cooling rate of 0.003 K/s, for example, resulted in several large packets or colonies of similarly aligned O-phase lamellae and a nearly continuous massive α ₂ phase at the prior B2 grain boundaries, while a faster cooling rate of 0.1 K/s led to the refinement of colony sizes and the O-phase lamellae. The interface of O-phase lamellae and B2 phases was semicoherent. Water quenching produced a very fine tweed-like microstructure with a thin continuous O phase at the prior B2 grain boundaries. The 0.2 pct yield stress, tensile strength, and HCF strength increased with increasing cooling rate. For example, the tensile strength and HCF strength at 10⁷ cycles of 0.003 and 0.1 K/s-cooled were 774 and 450 MPa, and 945 and 620 MPa, respectively. Since the fatigue ratio, which is the ratio of HCF strength at 10⁷ cycles to tensile strength, did not show a constant value, but instead increased with increasing cooling rate, part of the fatigue improvement was the result of improved resistance to fatigue associated with the microstructural refinement of the lamellar morphology. Fatigue failure occurred by the subsurface initiation, and every initiation site was found to contain a flat facet. Concurrent observation of the fatigue initiation facet and the underlying microstructure revealed that the fatigue crack initiated in a shear mode across the colony, irrespective of colony size, indicating that the size of the initiation facet corresponded to that of the colony. Therefore, the colony size is likely a major controlling factor in determining the degree of fatigue improvement due to the microstructural refinement of lamellar morphology. For the water-quenched specimens, fatigue crack initiation appeared to be associated with shear cracking along the boundary between the continuous grain boundary O phase and the adjacent prior B2 grain.     

Mixed-mode, high-cycle fatigue-crack-growth thresholds in Ti-6Al-4V: Role of bimodal and lamellar microstructures

Mixed-mode, high-cycle fatigue-crack growth thresholds are reported for through-thickness cracks (large compared to microstructural dimensions) in a Ti-6Al-4V turbine blade alloy in both lamellar and bimodal microstructural conditions. Specifically, the effect of combined mode I and mode II loading, over a range of phase angles (β=tan ⁻¹ (ΔK _II/ΔK _I) from 0 to 62 deg (ΔK _II/ΔK _I∼0 to 1.9), is examined at a load ratio (ratio of minimum to maximum loads) of R = 0.1 and a cyclic loading frequency of 1000 Hz in ambient-temperature air. When the mixed-mode, crack-driving force is characterized in terms of the strain-energy release rate (ΔG), incorporating contributions from both the applied tensile and shear loading, the threshold for fatigue-crack growth is observed to increase significantly with the applied mode-mixity (ΔK _II/ΔK _I) for both microstructures, an effect attributed to enhanced crack-tip shielding. The pure mode I threshold, in terms of ΔG _TH, is observed to be a lower bound (worst case) with respect to mixed-mode (I + II) behavior. For large crack sizes, the threshold fatigue-crack growth resistance of the lamellar structure is observed to be superior to that of the bimodal material for all phase angles investigated. Consideration of mode I fatigue-crack growth thresholds for small cracks in these same microstructures suggests that this rank ordering of mixed-mode fatigue resistance may not hold for crack lengths that are comparable to microstructural size scales. Examination of the fatigue-crack wake indicates that, for the lamellar microstructure, the path of crack extension is significantly influenced by the local microstructure over length scales on the order of the relatively coarse lamellar colonies (∼500 μm). Comparatively, the crack path in the bimodal material is more strongly influenced by the applied crack-driving force. This disparity in behavior is attributed primarily to the relatively heterogeneous crack-growth resistance of the coarse lamellar microstructure.     

粉末粒度对热压Ti-6Al-4V合金微观组织和力学性能的影响

以4种不同粒径的球形Ti-6Al-4V粉末为原料,采用真空热压法进行成形固结。利用X射线衍射仪(XRD)、金相显微镜、扫描电镜、万能材料试验机分别分析粉末Ti-6Al-4V合金的物相组成、微观组织、断口形貌以及力学性能,研究粉末粒度及其组成对烧结体微观组织和力学性能的影响。研究结果表明:热压烧结Ti-6Al-4V样品致密度均可达到98%以上。不同粒度粉末烧结后的合金均为网篮排列层片状组织。合金塑性主要受原始粉末粒度影响,随原始粉末粒度增大,烧结样品的晶粒尺寸增大,从而导致合金的塑性降低。粉末粗细搭配相比于原始粗粉,有助于提高合金的塑性,从而有效降低粉末钛合金的成本。     

Effect of microstructure on notch fatigue properties of Ti-6Al-4V

The effect of microstructure on the notch fatigue properties of Ti-6A1-4V was investigated. Specimens with five distinctly different microstructures were tested and subsequently examined in detail. It was found that the notch fatigue performance of the alloy varied significantly as the microstructure was altered by heat treatment. The best high cycle fatigue strength was found in specimens heat treated above the beta transus temperature, containing an almost totally transformed acicular alpha structure. The fatigue performance of specimens with this microstructure appeared to be controlled by the size of the nucleated crack. It is suggested that at low stress levels the nucleated crack is limited in size to the width of a single alpha needle, while at high stresses the nucleated crack may be as large as an entire colony of similarly aligned alpha needles.     

Influence of microstructure on high-cycle fatigue of Ti-6Al-4V: Bimodal vs. lamellar structures

The high-cycle fatigue (HCF) of titanium alloy turbine engine components remains a principal cause of failures in military aircraft engines. A recent initiative sponsored by the United States Air Force has focused on the major drivers for such failures in Ti-6Al-4V, a commonly used turbine blade alloy, specifically for fan and compressor blades. However, as most of this research has been directed toward a single processing/heat-treated condition, the bimodal (solution-treated and overaged (STOA)) microstructure, there have been few studies to examine the role of microstructure. Accordingly, the present work examines how the overall resistance to high-cycle fatigue in Ti-6Al-4V compares between the bimodal microstructure and a coarser lamellar (β-annealed) microstructure. Several aspects of the HCF problem are examined. These include the question of fatigue thresholds for through-thickness large and short cracks; microstructurally small, semi-elliptical surface cracks; and cracks subjected to pure tensile (mode I) and mixed-mode (mode I+II) loading over a range of load ratios (ratio of minimum to maximum load) from 0.1 to 0.98, together with the role of prior damage due to sub-ballistic impacts (foreign-object damage (FOD)). Although differences are not large, it appears that the coarse lamellar microstructure has improved smooth-bar stress-life (S-N) properties in the HCF regime and superior resistance to fatigue-crack propagation (in pure mode I loading) in the presence of cracks that are large compared to the scale of the microstructure; however, this increased resistance to crack growth compared to the bimodal structure is eliminated at extremely high load ratios. Similarly, under mixed-mode loading, the lamellar microstructure is generally superior. In contrast, in the presence of microstructurally small cracks, there is little difference in the HCF properties of the two microstructures. Similarly, resistance to HCF failure following FOD is comparable in the two microstructures, although a higher proportion of FOD-induced microcracks are formed in the lamellar structure following high-velocity impact damage. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.