High temperature rise dominated cracking mechanisms in ultra-ductile and tough titanium alloy.

Choisez, L; Ding, L; Marteleur, M; Idrissi, H; Pardoen, T; Jacques, P J · Nat Commun · 2020

basic_science · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

Extensive use of titanium alloys is partly hindered by a lack of ductility, strain hardening, and fracture toughness. Recently, several β-metastable titanium alloys were designed to simultaneously activate both transformation-induced plasticity and twinning-induced plasticity effects, resulting in significant improvements to their strain hardening capacity and resistance to plastic localization. Here, we report an ultra-large fracture resistance in a Ti-12Mo alloy (wt.%), that results from a high resistance to damage nucleation, with an unexpected fracture phenomenology under quasi-static loading. Necking develops at a large uniform true strain of 0.3 while fracture initiates at a true fracture strain of 1.0 by intense through-thickness shear within a thin localized shear band. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that dynamic recrystallization occurs in this band, while local partial melting is observed on the fracture surface. Shear band temperatures of 1250-2450 °C are estimated by the fusible coating method. The reported high ductility combined to the unconventional fracture process opens alternative avenues toward Ti alloys toughening.