Investigation on the effect of electroshock treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-45Al-5Nb alloy

This study investigated the effects of electroshock treatment (EST) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-45Al-5Nb alloy. Microstructure results showed that no new phase was generated after EST, the peak positions of alpha 2 phase and gamma phase were shifted, the relative intensity of the diffraction peaks were enhanced, and the grain orientations were varied. The original relatively coarse alpha 2 lamellae decomposed into fine gamma+alpha 2 lamellae in a direction parallel to the original gamma/alpha 2 lamellae. The segregation of Nb element was weakened and the distribution was more uniform. Texture research showed that after EST with 60 ms and 80 ms, the maximum relative texture intensity of gamma phase was enhanced. After EST with 100 ms, the maximum relative texture intensity of gamma phase weakened to 17.86, and the grain orientation became dispersed. The texture distribution was more uniform. The maximum relative texture intensity of alpha 2 phase was weakened and the orientation was dispersed after EST. Mechanical property results showed that after EST, the yield strength and fracture strain of the material was improved. The main reason is that the precipitation of gamma phase forms fine gamma/alpha 2 lamellae. All results indicate that EST provides a new way to manipulate the microstructure and properties of TiAl alloys.