Hot deformation mechanisms in Ti-5.5Al-1Fe alloy

The mechanisms of hot deformation in the alloy Ti-5.5Al-1Fe have been studied in the temperature range 750 to 1150°C and with the true strain rate varying from 0.001 to 100 s−1 by means of isothermal compression tests. At temperatures below β transus and low strain rates, the alloy exhibited steady-state flow behavior, while, at high strain rates, either continuous flow softening or work hardening followed by flow softening was observed. In the β region, the deformation behavior is characterized by steady-state behavior at low strain rates, yield drops at intermediate strain rates, and oscillations at high strain rates. The processing maps revealed two domains. (1) In the temperature range 750 to 1050°C and at strain rates lower than 0.01 s−1, the material exhibits fine-grained superplasticity. The apparent activation energy for superplastic deformation is estimated to be about 328 kJ/mole. The optimum conditions for superplasticity are 825°C and 0.001 s−1. (2) In the β region, a domain occurs at temperatures above 1100°C and at strain rates from 0.001 to 0.1 s−1 with its peak efficiency of 47% occurring at 1150°C and 0.01 s1. On the basis of kinetic analysis, tensile ductility, and grain size variation, this domain is interpreted to represent dynamic recrystallization (DRX) of β phase. The apparent activation energy for DRX is estimated to be 238 kJ/mole. The grain size (d) is linearly dependent on the Zener-Hollomon parameter (Z) per the equation log (d)=2.86-0.023 log(Z)log(d)=286-0023log(Z) In the regimes in the temperature range 750 to 825°C and at strain rates from 0.01 to 1.2 s−1 and at temperatures above 1050°C and strain rates above 10 s−1, the material exhibits flow instabilities manifested in the form of adiabatic shear bands