Hydrogen-enabled microstructure and fatigue strength engineering of titanium alloys

Area of Science:

• Materials Science and Engineering
• Metallurgy
• Powder Metallurgy

Background:

• Traditional wrought processes for titanium alloys are energy-intensive and costly.
• Low-cost powder metallurgy methods yield titanium alloys with inferior mechanical properties, particularly low fatigue strength.
• A need exists for cost-effective titanium alloy production with high mechanical performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a new microstructural engineering approach for producing low-cost titanium alloys.
• To achieve exceptional fatigue strength in titanium alloys using a novel process.
• To create wrought-like microstructures without employing traditional wrought processing.

Main Methods:

• Development and application of the hydrogen sintering and phase transformation (HSPT) process.
• Generation of an ultrafine-grained as-sintered microstructure via hydrogen-enabled phase transformations.
• Subsequent creation of fatigue-resistant microstructures through simple heat treatments.

Main Results:

• Successful production of low-cost titanium alloys with exceptional fatigue strength.
• Achieved wrought-like microstructures via a non-wrought processing method.
• Demonstrated exceptional strength, ductility, and fatigue performance.

Conclusions:

• The HSPT process offers a breakthrough in low-cost titanium alloy processing.
• This method enables the production of high-performance titanium alloys without costly wrought techniques.
• The approach facilitates the creation of fatigue-resistant microstructures through accessible heat treatments.