Slippage during high-pressure torsion of commercially pure titanium and application of accumulative HPT to it

A new efficient method was used to find that in the case of high-pressure torsion of commercially pure titanium, accumulation of shear strain in Ti does not occur due to slippage of anvils. Despite this, micro-hardness increases as the number of turns n increases, and Ti structure is refined more intensively. High-pressure torsion is accompanied by a high-pressure ω-phase formation. However, the content of ω-phase changes non-monotonously with an increase in the number of turns. First, while number of turns is less than n=5, the ω-phase content reaches 50%. Upon further deformation, the ω-phase content decreases to 15% for n=20. A new accumulative high-pressure torsion method is applied to commercially pure titanium for the first time. Accumulative high-pressure torsion leads to the strongest transformation of the structure and an increase in hardness, since stronger real deformation occurs due to composition of compression and torsion strain cycles.

The Phase Transformations Induced by High-Pressure Torsion in Ti–Nb-Based Alloys

The study of the fundamentals of the α → ω and β → ω phase transformations induced by high-pressure torsion (HPT) in Ti–Nb-based alloys is presented in the current work. Prior to HPT, three alloys with 5, 10, and 20 wt% of Nb were annealed in the temperature range of 700–540°C in order to obtain the (α + β)-phase state with a different amount of the β-phase. The samples were annealed for a long time in order to reach equilibrium Nb content in the α-solid solution. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques were used for the characterization of the microstructure evolution and phase transformations. HPT results in a strong grain refinement of the microstructure, a partial transformation of the α-phase into the ω-phase, and a complete β → ω phase transformation. Two kinds of the ω-phase with different chemical compositions were observed after HPT. The first one was formed from the β-phase, enriched in Nb, and the second one from the almost Nb-pure α-phase. It was found that the α → ω phase transformation depends on the Nb content in the initial α-Ti phase. The less the amount of Nb in the α-phase, the more the amount of the α-phase is transformed into the ω-phase.

Structure and Properties of Ti-Al-Ta and Ti-Al-Cr Cladding Layers Fabricated on Titanium

Being one of the most high-demand structural materials, titanium has several disadvantages, including low resistance to high-temperature oxidation and wear. The properties of titanium and its alloys can be improved by applying protective intermetallic coatings. In this study, 2 mm thick Ti-Al-Ta and Ti-Al-Cr layers were obtained on titanium workpieces by a non-vacuum electron-beam cladding. The microstructure and phase compositions of the samples were different for various alloying elements. The Cr-containing layer consisted of α2, γ, and B2 phases, while the Ta-containing layer additionally consisted of ω′ phase (P3m1). At the same atomic concentrations of aluminum and an alloying element in both layers, the volume fraction of the B2/ω phase in the Ti-41Al-7Ta alloy was significantly lower than in the Ti-41Al-7Cr alloy, and the amount of γ phase was higher. The Ti-41Al-7Cr layer had the highest wear resistance (2.1 times higher than that of titanium). The maximum oxidation resistance (8 times higher compared to titanium) was observed for the Ti-41Al-7Ta layer.

Surface Effect in a Metastable β Ti-Nb-Sn Alloy

The phase compositions of surface and interior in Ti-32Nb-4Sn metastable b alloy were investigated. It was found that this alloy exhibits surface effect significantly different from the effects reported in Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al, Ti-22Nb-9Zr and the other titanium alloys. The surface of Ti-32Nb-4Sn specimen quenched from single b phase region was characterized by dominant b phase and a few of α″ and ω phase. While in the interior of the alloy, a large amount of α² martensite phase was observed in addition to b phase The orientation relationship between the α″ martensite and β phase is (110)β∥(002)α″, (020)β∥(022)α″ and [001]β∥[100]α″.

Laboratory-Scale Processing and Performance Assessment of Ti–Ta High-Temperature Shape Memory Spring Actuators

Ti75Ta25 high-temperature shape memory alloys exhibit a number of features which make it difficult to use them as spring actuators. These include the high melting point of Ta (close to 3000 °C), the affinity of Ti to oxygen which leads to the formation of brittle α-case layers and the tendency to precipitate the ω-phase, which suppresses the martensitic transformation. The present work represents a case study which shows how one can overcome these issues and manufacture high quality Ti75Ta25 tensile spring actuators. The work focusses on processing (arc melting, arc welding, wire drawing, surface treatments and actuator spring geometry setting) and on cyclic actuator testing. It is shown how one can minimize the detrimental effect of ω-phase formation and ensure stable high-temperature actuation by fast heating and cooling and by intermediate rejuvenation anneals. The results are discussed on the basis of fundamental Ti–Ta metallurgy and in the light of Ni–Ti spring actuator performance.