Analysis and Research of the High-Cycle Fatigue Fracture Mode Based on Stress Ratio and Residual Stress of Ti-6Al-4V

The content of titanium is about 0.63% in the earth’s crust, and it ranks 10th among all elements. The content of titanium is next to the metal elements of aluminum, iron and magnesium, iron, and magnesium; titanium alloys have low density, high specific strength (the ratio of tensile strength to density), wide working range (−253°C–600°C), and excellent corrosion resistance melting point; the chemical activity of titanium alloy is very high, and it easily reacts with hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, so it is difficult to be smelted and processed, and the processing cost is high. Titanium alloys also have poor thermal conductivity (only 1/5 of iron and 1/15 of aluminum), small deformation coefficient, large friction coefficient, and other characteristics. They are widely used in aircraft fuselage, gas turbine, petrochemical, automotive industry, medical, and other fields for important parts.

Duplex Aging and Gas Nitriding Process as a Method of Surface Modification of Titanium Alloys for Aircraft Applications

This study discusses the effect of a duplex aging + nitriding process on the wear resistance of an aged double-phase titanium alloy, BT22. Nitriding was applied simultaneously with the heat treatment of the alloy, which is advantageous over the conventional heat and surface treatment methods applied to titanium alloys. According to the results, the thickness of the case depth of the nitrided samples was 40–50 μm. Moreover, nitrogen was uniformly dispersed in the substrate, which was indicated by the hardness tests. The average microhardness of the substrate material was 300 HV0.01, while the hardness of the top layer was 1190 HV0.01, which is an almost four-fold increase. The applied duplex treatment substantially affected the wear performance of the tested alloy. For the untreated alloy, the maximum coefficient of friction was 0.8, while in the surface-modified sample, the maximum fluctuations reached 0.6. The abrasive wear process was dominant in the nitrided samples, while delamination and adhesive wear were observed for the untreated specimens. The nitrided alloy exhibited double the wear resistance of the untreated samples. The proposed treatment does not require additional time or energy consumption, providing a substantial technological advantage over conventional methods. Though the alpha case reduces the mechanical performance of titanium, the nitriding of only the component sections intended to withstand friction will have a positive effect.