Deformation and dynamic recrystallization behavior of a high Nb containing TiAl alloy

► A high Nb containing TiAl alloy was designed. ► The present alloy possesses a wider hot-working window than other TiAl alloy. ► The initiation of dynamic recrystallization is very easy. ► The low Avrami exponent indicates a low dynamic recrystallization rate. ► The role of β phase is discussed in details. The hot deformation and dynamic recrystalliztion (DRX) behavior of a high Nb containing TiAl alloy were studied using hot uniaxial compression tests. The tests were conducted at temperatures of 1000–1150°C and strain rates of 0.001–0.5s−1. Due to high Nb additions, this alloy possesses a wide hot-working window. The stress–strain curve exhibits peak stress at low strain followed by dynamic softening and steady-state flow. The dependence of the peak stress on the deformation temperature and strain rate can well be expressed by a hyperbolic-sine type equation. The activation energy, Q, was measured to be 427kJ/mol (4.3eV) and the stress exponent was measured as 4.16. Based on the conventional strain hardening rate curves (dσ/dε versus σ), the characteristic points including the critical strain for DRX initiation (εc) and the strain for peak stress (εp) were identified to express the evolution of DRX and εc is 0.92 times εp. In order to characterize the evolution of DRX volume fraction, the DRX kinetics was studied by Avrami type equation. The low Avrami exponents of the proposed equation indicate a lower recrystallization rate compared to ordinary alloys. Besides, the role of β phase and the softening mechanism during hot deformation were discussed in detail.