Experimental study of damage kinetics in alpha/beta titanium alloys

Nucleation and growth kinetics in alpha/beta titanium alloys have been experimentally and numerically investigated. Efforts were focused on the triaxiality effect. Experiments were performed on different types of specimens in order to use the local approach to fracture. It has been evidenced that internal stresses increase both nucleation and growth kinetics. Void growth has been divided into two stages. The first occurs in the alpha-grains and the second through the surrounded beta-matrix. In the second stage, growth rate strongly depends on the lambda/phi ratio (where lambda is the center-to-center particle spacing and phi the particle diameter).