In situ SEM investigation of slip transfer in Ti-6Al-4V: Effect of applied stress

Slip transfer is a major concern to understand fatigue behavior and damage, especially in titanium alloys. The presently reported investigation focused on the influence of the applied stress through the use of in situ tensile tests carried out inside a scanning electron microscope. Slip transfer between primary α nodules in Ti-6Al-4V was studied using slip trace analysis combined with the electron backscattered diffraction technique to consider crystallographic aspects. The influence of the resolved shear stress and the alignment between slip systems on slip transmission was thoroughly characterized considering a large number of blocked or transferred slip bands. In particular, the evolution of alignment and stress related indicators was assessed with respect to the applied stress. •Slip transfer was investigated in Ti-6Al-4V using in SEM tensile tests and EBSD.•Slip transfer operates at plastic strains below 0.2%.•The angles between slip plane normals or slip directions are equally influent.•The m′ distribution is not or weakly sensitive to the applied stress.•A RSS threshold insensitive to the applied stress enables slip transfer.