Institute of Fundamental Technological Research

In this paper, the effects of heating parameters, including temperature ranging from 900 ℃ to 1000 ℃, heating rates ranging from 2 ℃∙s-1 to 100 ℃∙s-1, and 120 s soaking on the non-equilibrium microstructure evolution of Ti-6Al-4V alloy were studied. Microstructures after heating were characterized to reveal the mechanism of non-equilibrium phase transformation. Uniaxial tensile tests at room temperature were carried out to evaluate the effects of non-equilibrium microstructure on the mechanical properties. Results show that higher heating rate and lower temperature lead to lower β phase volume fraction and finer β grains. A transition region with element gradient forms in the αp grain near the αp/β phase boundary and transfers into β phase gradually during the heating. Rapid heating could confine the movement of the transition region, and therefore reduce the α→β transition and growth of the β phase. When the Ti-6Al-4V alloy was heated to 1000 ℃ at a rate of 50 ℃/s and then quenched immediately, the tensile strength was improved by 19.5% and reached up to 1263.0 MPa with the elongation only decreasing from 13.6% to 9.6% compared with the initial material. The main strengthening mechanism is that the rapid heating in the single-phase region avoids the rapid growth of the β phase, which leads to fully fine martensite formation after water quenching.

Rapid heating,Non-equilibrium microstructure,Mechanical properties,Strengthening mechanisms

In this paper, the fatigue performance of the aluminide layer-coated and as-received MAR 247 nickel superalloy with three different initial microstructures (fine grain, coarse grain and column-structured grain) was monitored using nondestructive, eddy current methods. The aluminide layers of 20 and 40 µm were obtained through the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process in the hydrogen protective atmosphere for 8 and 12 h at the temperature of 1040 °C and internal pressure of 150 mbar. A microstructure of MAR 247 nickel superalloy and the coating were characterized using light optical microscopy (LOM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). It was found that fatigue performance was mainly driven by the initial microstructure of MAR 247 nickel superalloy and the thickness of the aluminide layer. Furthermore, the elaborated methodology allowed in situ eddy current measurements that enabled us to localize the area with potential crack initiation and its propagation during 60,000 loading cycles.

chemical vapor deposition, nickel alloys, aluminide coatings, fatigue, eddy current

During hot stamping of titanium alloys, insufficient forming temperatures result in limited material formability, whereas temperatures approaching the β phase transus also result in reduced formability due to phase transformation, grain coarsening and oxidation during the long-time heating. To solve this problem, Fast light Alloys Stamping Technology (FAST) is proposed in this paper, where fast heating is employed. Effects of heating parameters on the formability and post-form strength were studied by tensile tests. Forming of a wing stiffener was performed to validate this new process. Results show that microstructure of TC4 alloy after fast heating was in nonequilibrium state, which could enhance ductility significantly compared with the equilibrium state. When TC4 alloy was first heated to 950 °C with heating rate of 100 °C/s and then cooled to 700 °C, the elongation at 700 °C was more than 3 times that of a slow heating rate with soaking. Nano-scaled martensite with high dislocation density transformed from β phase was observed under fast heating condition. A complex shaped wing stiffener was successfully formed from TC4 titanium alloy in less than 70 s including heating, transfer and forming, and the post-form strength was almost the same with the initial blank.

titanium alloys, fast heating, hot stamping, formability, post-form strength

Near-α titanium alloys have extensive applications in high temperature structural components of aircrafts. To manufacture complex-shaped titanium alloy panel parts with desired microstructure and good properties, an innovative low-cost hot stamping process for titanium alloy was studied in this paper. Firstly, a series of hot tensile tests and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) observations were performed to investigate hot deformation characteristics and identify typical microstructural evolutions. The optimal forming temperature range is determined to be from 750 °C to 900 °C for hot stamping of TA15. In addition, a unified mechanisms-based material model for TA15 titanium alloy based on the softening mechanisms of recrystallization and damage was established, which enables to precisely predict stress-strain behaviors and potentially to be implemented into Finite Element (FE) simulations for designing the reasonable processing window of structural parts for the aerospace industry.

TA15, hot stamping, phase evolution, deformation, modelling

A novel hot stamping process for Ti6Al4V alloy using cold forming tools and a hot blank was presented in this paper. The formability of the material was studied through uniaxial tensile tests at temperatures ranging from 600 to 900 °C and strain rates ranging from 0.1 to 5 s-1. An elongation ranging from 30% to 60% could be achieved at temperatures ranging from 750 to 900°C respectively. The main microstructure evolution mechanisms varied with the deformation temperature, including recovery, phase transformation and recrystallization. The hardness of the material after deformation first decreased with the temperature due to recovery, and subsequently increased mainly due to the phase transformation. During the hot stamping tests, qualified parts could be formed successfully at heating temperatures ranging from 750 to 850°C. The forming failed at lower temperatures due to the limited ductility of the material. At temperatures higher than 900°C, extensive phase transformation of α to β occurred during the heating. During the transfer and forming, the temperature dropped significantly which led to the formation of transformed β, reduction of the formability and subsequent failure. The post-form hardness distribution demonstrated the same tendency as that after uniaxial tensile tests.

titanium alloys, Ti6Al4V, hot stamping, microstructure

To investigate the feasibility of a novel hot stamping process for the Ti6Al4V titanium alloy using low temperature forming tools, mechanical properties of the material were studied using hot tensile tests at a temperature range of 600 - 900°C with a constant strain rate of 1s-1. Hot stamping tests were carried out to verify the feasibility of this technology and identify the forming window for the material. Results show that when the deformation temperature was lower than 700°C, the amount of elongation was less than 20%, and it also had little change with the temperature. However, when the temperature was higher than 700°C, a good ductility of the material can be achieved. During the forming tests, parts failed at lower temperatures (600°C) due to the limited formability and also failed at higher temperatures (950°C) due to the phase transformation. The post-form hardness firstly decreased with the temperature increasing due to recovery and then increased due to the phase transformation. Qualified parts were formed successfully between temperatures of 750 - 850°C, which indicates that this new technology has a great potential in forming titanium alloys sheet components.

titanium, hot stamping, metal forming

hot stamping, titanium alloys, FAST

titanium alloys, hot stamping, formability, post-form strength

The paper aims to investigate the nature of fracture behaviour through the microstructural and damage evolution analysis of a titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) with tailored initial microstructures under FAST conditions. High-temperature uniaxial tensile tests with varying heating rates (4°C/s and 100°C/s) and temperatures (900 - 950°C) were conducted to study the effects of heating parameters on the formability and damage of the material. The microstructure and fracture morphology after high-temperature uniaxial tensile tests were characterised to reveal the evolution mechanisms of elongation and damage. It was found, that fast heating could restrain the phase transformation of α to β during the heating and therefore improve the formability of the Ti6Al4V titanium alloy under hot stamping condition.

Ti6Al4V, hot stamping, fracture behaviour, damage evolution