Strengthening of a Near β-Ti Alloy through β Grain Refinement and Stress-Induced α Precipitation

Near β-Ti alloys with high strength and good ductility are desirable for application in aviation and aerospace industries. Nevertheless, strength and ductility are usually mutually exclusive in structural materials. Here we report a new thermo-mechanical process, that is, the alloy was cross-rolled in β field then aged at 600 °C for 1 h. By such a process, a high strength (ultimate tensile strength: 1480 MPa) and acceptable ductility (elongation: 10%) can be simultaneously achieved in the near β-Ti alloy, based on the microscale β matrix and nanoscale α phase. The microstructure evolution, mechanical properties and strengthening mechanisms have been clarified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that the grain size of the β phase progressively decreased with the increasing of rolling reduction. Moreover, dense dislocation structures and martensite phases distributed in the cross-rolled β matrix can effectively promote the precipitation of nanoscale α particles. TEM analyses confirmed that a heat-treatment twin was generated in the newly formed α lath during aging. These findings provide insights towards developing Ti alloys with optimized mechanical properties.