Anomalous enhancing effects of electric pulse treatment on strength and ductility of TC17 linear friction welding joints

Mechanical properties of TC17 titanium alloy undergo a significant reduction after linear friction welding (LFW), of which the strength and ductility are hard to be improved simultaneously by traditional aging heat treatment (AHT), seriously limiting the application of LFW in the manufacturing of TC17 titanium alloy blisks. To this end, the present work proposes to use electric pulse treatment (EPT) to enhance the strength and ductility of TC17 LFW joints simultaneously by improving its microstructure. The results show that, in comparison to the uneven distribution of alpha phases in the welding zone (WZ), heat-affected zone (HAZ), and base metal (BM) zone after AHT, EPT can selectively homogenize the alpha phase distribution of WZ and HAZ without impacting the BM. The selective effect of EPT is reflected as the synergistic influence of the local Joule heating effect and the electron wind effect, which promotes the diffusion of ss phase stabilizing element Mo and leads to a competitive precipitation of ss phase and alpha phase in the alpha phase transition temperature range. The ratio of alpha phase to ss phase in the WZ and HAZ finally approaches an equilibrium point which is similar to that of BM, leading to a uniform distribution of alpha phase and realizing the synergy of strength-ductility of LFW joint: the maximum strength increase observed is 12.9 %, accompanied by a corresponding elongation increase of 122 % (by AHT & EPT), and the maximum plasticity improvement is 185 %, accompanied by a corresponding strength increase of 4.3 % (by EPT for 1 h). This study provides essential insights for improving the strength and ductility of LFW TC17 titanium alloy blisks and enhancing the applications of LFW in aeroengine components. (c) 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.