In Situ Observations of the Deformation Behavior and Fracture Mechanisms of Ti-45Al-2Nb-2Mn+0.8 vol pct TiB₂

The deformation and fracture mechanisms of a nearly lamellar Ti-45Al-2Nb-2Mn (at. pct) + 0.8 vol pct TiB₂ intermetallic, processed into an actual low-pressure turbine blade, were examined by means of in situ tensile and tensile-creep experiments performed inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Low elongation-to-failure and brittle fracture were observed at room temperature, while the larger elongations-to-failure at high temperature facilitated the observation of the onset and propagation of damage. It was found that the dominant damage mechanisms at high temperature depended on the applied stress level. Interlamellar cracking was observed only above 390 MPa, which suggests that there is a threshold below which this mechanism is inhibited. Failure during creep tests at 250 MPa was controlled by intercolony cracking. The in situ observations demonstrated that the colony boundaries are damage nucleation and propagation sites during tensile creep, and they seem to be the weakest link in the microstructure for the tertiary creep stage. Therefore, it is proposed that interlamellar areas are critical zones for fracture at higher stresses, whereas lower stress, high-temperature creep conditions lead to intercolony cracking and fracture.The authors are grateful to Industria de Turbo Propulsores, S.A. for supplying the intermetallic blades. Funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through projects MAT2009-14547-C02-01 and MAT2009-14547-C02-02 is acknowledged. The Madrid Regional Government supported this project partially through the ESTRUMAT grant P2009/MAT-1585. C.J.B. acknowledges the support from Grant SAB2009-0045 from the Spanish Ministry of Education for his sabbatical stage in Madrid.Publicad

Use of Gleeble MAXStrain unit for study of damage development in hot forging

The standard Gleeble MAXStrain unit has been modified to allow axial elongation. Analyses indicate that in this way both positive and negative hydrostatic stresses can be achieved during forging simulations, depending on the amount of strain per hit. This opens the way to the study of the effect of hydrostatic stress on development of damage and healing. In this contribution we will show results of finite element simulations of this test at different settings as well as experimental results, which seem to confirm this

Influence of ring growth rate on damage development in hot ring rolling

As an incremental forming process of bulk metal, ring rolling provides a cost effective process route to manufacture seamless rings. In the production of hot rolled rings, defects such as porosity can sometimes be found in high alloyed steel, manufactured from ingots having macro-segregation. For the reduction of the waste of material and improvement of product quality, a better understanding of the relations between parameters in the hot ring rolling process and the occurrence of porosity is needed. In this study round bars were used to manufacture rings on an industrial ring rolling mill. Different ring growth rates were applied to investigate the influence on the occurrence of porosity in the final rings. The hot rolled rings were inspected by ultrasonic testing, of which the results were also validated by metallographic investigation. In addition to the experimental investigations, coupled thermo-mechanical multi-stage finite element (FE) analysis was performed with integrated adaptive motion control of the rolls. A damage indicator was implemented in a user-defined elasto-viscoplastic material model. The deformations, stresses as well as temperature history from preform forging were included as initial conditions for the rolling stage. Damage indication from the numerical model matches the experimental result in the considered process conditions. In spite of the suggestion of a more careful process when a low ring growth rate is used in hot ring rolling, experimental and numerical studies demonstrate that with a low ring growth rate there is an increased susceptibility to damage as compared to application of a high ring growth rate

Characterization of in-situ alloyed and additively manufactured titanium aluminides

Titanium aluminide components were fabricated using in-situ alloying and layer additive manufacturing based on the gas tungsten arc welding process combined with separate wire feeding of titanium and aluminum elements. The new fabrication process promises significant time and cost saving in comparison to traditional methods. In the present study, issues such as processing parameters, microstructure, and properties are discussed. The results presented here demonstrate the potential to produce full density titanium aluminide components directly using the new technique. 2014 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International