Surface Modification of Pure Titanium by High Current Pulsed Electron Beam

Polycrystalline pure titanium was irradiated by high-current pulsed electron beam (HCPEB). The microstructure changes and material strength were investigated by using microhardness tester, optical microscope, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) technique. The experimental results indicate that many craters are inevitably formed on the irradiated surface. The eruption of the craters makes the material surface cleaned, which can improve the corrosion resistance of materials. Furthermore, martensitic structure, ultra-fine grains and high-density dislocations are formed on the irradiated surface, which increase the hardness of the treated samples. The microhardness of 20-pulsed sample reaches 286Hv, which is 71% higher than the initial sample. Martensitic transformation, grain refinement and dislocation strengthening induced by HCPEB treatment are the dominating mechanism for the improvements of material strength. It is suggested that HCPEB technique is becoming an effective approach to surface modification for pure titanium and titanium alloy.