Origin of ultralow Young׳s modulus in a metastable β-type Ti-33Nb-4Sn alloy

Although there is difficulty in growing a Ti-33Nb-4Sn single crystal due to its ultralow β-phase stability, the single-crystal elastic constants of metastable β-type Ti-33Nb-4Sn (wt%) alloy were extracted successfully from its polycrystal by in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction technique, to clarify the origin of the ultralow Young's modulus in its polycrystal. It is indicated that compared to binary TiCr, TiV and TiNb alloys, the Ti-33Nb-4Sn alloy possesses slightly lower β-phase stability with respect to {110}<110>(-)shear (i.e., C׳) but much lower β-phase stability regarding to {001}〈100〉 shear (i.e., C44). An analysis by the Hill approximation suggests that the ultralow isotropic polycrystalline Young׳s modulus (EH) of Ti-33Nb-4Sn alloy originates from the extremely low shear modulus C44 as well as the relatively low C׳. This indicates that in addition to C׳, C44 has a significant contribution to the Young's modulus of polycrystal, which challenges a conventional understanding that the Young's modulus of β-type Ti alloys is predominantly determined by C׳.