Severe plastic deformation induced precipitation of the ordered α2-Ti3Al phase in Ti–5Al–2Sn–2Zr–4Mo–4Cr

The typical two-phase titanium alloy of Ti–5Al–2Sn–2Zr–4Mo–4Cr was subjected to severe plastic deformation (SPD) by using high energy shot peening (HESP) at room temperature. Here, we experimentally investigated the SPD-induced atomic diffusion and phase transformation in the HESP processed Ti–5Al–2Sn–2Zr–4Mo–4Cr. The experimental results revealed that the ellipsoid-shaped precipitates with about 30–50 nm in thickness occurred in the surface layer of the HESP processed Ti–5Al–2Sn–2Zr–4Mo–4Cr, which was characterized to be the ordered α2-Ti3Al phase with the D019 crystal structure. The underlying formation mechanism of these ordered α2-Ti3Al precipitates was attributed to the SPD-induced atomic diffusion behaviors at room temperature, i.e., SPD-induced diffusive phase transformation, significantly different from the conventional ordering transformation driven by thermodynamics at high temperature. During HESP, the extremely high stress and strain level provided the potential conditions for precipitation of α2-Ti3Al phase; meanwhile, the generation of high-density dislocations accelerated the atomic diffusion, thereby promoting the nucleation of α2-Ti3Al phase. Furthermore, the significant reduction of grain size to nanometer contributed to the stability of α2-Ti3Al phase at room temperature. [Display omitted] •The nano-sized α2-Ti3Al phase occurred in HESP processed Ti–5Al–2Sn–2Zr–4Mo–4Cr.•The precipitation of α2-Ti3Al was attributed to SPD-induced atomic diffusion at room temperature.•High-density dislocations promoted atomic diffusion for the precipitation of α2-Ti3Al.•The nano-size effect contributed to the stability of α2-Ti3Al at room temperature.