Assessment of mechanical behaviour,microstructure and critical conditions of welded commercial purity titanium

An assessment of microstructure and mechanical properties of weldments in rolled and forged versions of commercially pure titanium has been undertaken. A comparison is also made between tungsten inert gas (TIG) and electron beam (EB) weldment properties.Fracture and fatigue behaviour of weldments have been investigated experimentally by fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth studies employing notched three point bend specimens. The implications of the data produced are expressed in a design philosophy which enables an estimate of critical defect size to be made based on either stable or unstable crack growth or plastic collapse. The conjoint action of fatigue and stable crack growth is also considered.