An investigation of microstructure, hardness, tensile behaviour of a titanium alloy: Role of orientation

In this technical paper, the microstructure, hardness, tensile deformation and final fracture behaviour of an emerging titanium alloy for performance-critical applications are presented and discussed. Both longitudinal and transverse test specimens were prepared from the as-provided sheet stock of the alloy and deformed in uniaxial tension. The yield strength and tensile strength of the alloy sheet in the transverse orientation was higher than the longitudinal orientation. The ductility of the test specimens, quantified in terms of reduction-in-cross-sectional area, was higher for the transverse specimen when compared to the longitudinal counterpart. The elongation-to-failure of the test specimens was identical in the two orientations of the sheet stock. The tensile fracture behaviour of the alloy was quantified by careful examination of the fracture surfaces in a scanning electron microscope. The intrinsic fracture features on the tensile fracture surface were discussed taking into consideration the nature of loading and contribution from intrinsic microstructural features.