Investigating the morphological effects of solute on the β-phase in as-cast titanium alloys

An outstanding challenge in titanium solidification processes is controlling the primary beta-phase morphology. Consequently, this paper investigates the efficacy of chromium additions to reduce anisotropic growth morphologies of the primary beta-phase in titanium castings. By characterising the size, morphology and positions of beta-grains in the cross-sections of each alloy, it is determined that, in contrast to established theory, chromium-containing castings yielded increased beta-grain anisotropy, both in terms of size and morphology. It is proposed that these experimental results may still be consistent with established theory if certain theoretical assumptions are reconsidered. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.