Interrelationship of Fracture Mechanism and Microstructure of TC18 Titanium Alloy

The scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical microscope (OM) were used to study the deformation of TC18 titanium alloy microstructure at 881°C and 896°C. And the basket weave structure fracture mechanism was discussed. The results have been shown: during deformation at 881°C, the TC18 titanium alloy β grain size of about 305μm and the discontinuous grain boundary α phase along the β grain boundary were obtained. With the deformation temperature rising to 896°C, the β grain growth of 510μm and the continuous grain boundary α phase along the straight β grain boundary were obtained. The TC18 titanium alloy fracture toughness decreased from 77.8 MPa·m1/2 to 65.4 MPa·m1/2 as the rising of deformation temperature from 881°C to 896°C. The average β grain size is about 305μm and the discontinuous grain boundary α phase leads to the higher fracture toughness of TC18 titanium alloy forging. The fracture mode of fine β grain and discontinuous grain boundary α phase is the transgranular fracture, while the coarse β grain and continuous grain boundary α phase is the intergranular fracture.