JOM, Vol. 69, No.

10, 2017
DOI: 10.1007/s11837-017-2407-6
Ó 2017 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society

Effect of Microstructure on the Hot Deformation Behavior of

TiAl-Based Alloys Prepared by Powder Metallurgy Method

DONGJUN WANG,1,2,3,4 RUI ZHANG,3 HAO YUAN,3

and JIANMING QIANG3

1.—National Key Laboratory for Precision Hot Processing of Metals, Harbin Institute of Techn-
ology, Harbin 150001, China. 2.—Key Laboratory of Micro-Systems and Micro-Structures Man-
ufacturing, Ministry of Education, Harbin 150001, China. 3.—School of Materials Science and
Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China. 4.—e-mail:
dongjunwang@hit.edu.cn

To investigate microstructural influence on deformation behavior, TiAl-based

alloys were prepared by spark plasma sintering and heat treatment was
conducted to optimize the microstructures of as-sintered samples. The near-c
microstructure of the sintered alloy transformed into a duplex microstructure
after heat treatment. Furthermore, isothermal compression tests were carried
out at different temperatures in the range 1100–1200°C with a strain rate of
0.01 s 1. The resistances to deformation of the heat-treated samples were
smaller than those of the as-sintered samples under the same deformation
conditions. In particular, the heat-treated sample had fewer and smaller a2
phases than did the sintered alloy, and it exhibited a well-deformed appear-
ance and homogeneous microstructure after deformation at a temperature
100°C lower than the sintered alloy. The results revealed that TiAl-based
alloys with an optimal microstructure fabricated by powder metallurgy had
good formability and a homogeneous deformed microstructure, which was
preferable for hot-working and further secondary processing.

The powder metallurgy (PM) technique was

INTRODUCTION
With the development of the aviation and aero-
space fields, there is increasing demand for low-
weight materials with high working temperatures.1
Titanium aluminum (TiAl) alloys are widely recog-
nized as potential substituent materials for heavy
nickel superalloys in the production of low-pressure
turbine blades, turbocharger wheels, exhaust
valves, etc., as a result of their high specific
strengths and moduli, good structural stability,
and excellent resistance against oxidation at mod-
erate temperatures (600–850°C).2,3 TiAl-based
alloys are usually produced by the traditional
casting or ingot metallurgy method. Nonetheless,
the alloys have to be treated subsequently by hot
isocratic processing (HIP) or heat treatment to
eliminate pores and segregations, as well as to
refine grains for improving their performances,
which in turn gives rise to higher cost and a longer
cycle of fabrication.4
recently developed for manufacturing TiAl-based
alloys, and it can prepare fine-grained microstruc-
tures with better control of the chemical and phase
compositions.5 In the case of TiAl-based alloys, the
spark plasma sintering (SPS) method, which is one
of the advanced PM routes, is generally superior to
conventional consolidation techniques (such as hot-
pressing) for metallic powders because of its rapid-
ity, cheapness, and simplicity.6 Although the raw
material of TiAl-based alloys with improved prop-
erties can be obtained using the SPS method, it is
still difficult to fabricate the complex-shaped com-
ponents of this intermetallic compound in one step.
Therefore, hot-working such as hot extrusion, hot
rolling, or canned forging of TiAl-based alloys
prepared by the PM route is required to control
the microstructure and improve the properties,
besides achieving a complicated shape. Research
attempts have so far been made to investigate the

1824 (Published online June 14, 2017)

Effect of Microstructure on the Hot Deformation Behavior of TiAl-Based Alloys Prepared
by Powder Metallurgy Method
hot deformation behavior of TiAl-based alloys pre-
pared by PM (e.g., hot pressing),7 yet few studies
have focused on the effects of the different
microstructures related to the rapid solidification
and sintering of the alloys subjected to SPS on the
hot-deforming formability and subsequent deformed
microstructure.
In this study, the SPS method is applied to
prepare TiAl-based alloys followed by heat treat-
ment. The influences of the original microstructure
and deformation temperature on the flow stress are
explored in detail through isothermal compression
tests. The evolution of microstructure is also char-
acterized after deformation. These results can help
optimize the microstructure for superior hot-work-
ing formability and to control better the deformed
microstructure, which can accelerate the applica-
tion of TiAl-based alloys fabricated by SPS.
MATERIALS AND METHOD
TiAl-based pre-alloyed powders were produced by
using gas atomization and the nominal composition
of the powder was Ti-46.5Al-2.15Cr-1.90Nb (at.%).
The powders with a particle diameter smaller than
100 lm were consolidated by SPS, and the sizes of
the as-sintered samples were /20 mm 9 10 mm
and /105 mm 9 20 mm. During the SPS process,
the temperature increased to 1150°C at a mean
heating rate of 60°C/min and the sintering time was
7 min at a pressure of 50 MPa. The alloys were
cooled inside the furnace at a pressure of 10 MPa.
To compare, heat treatment was also carried out for
the as-sintered alloy, i.e., annealing at 1270°C for
15 min with a heating rate of 10°C/min.
The structural characteristics were investigated
by x-ray diffraction (XRD, D/Max-RA diffractome-
ter, operated with Cu-Ka radiation) and scanning
electron microscopy (SEM, Quanta200FEG). Cylin-
der samples for hot compression tests of size /
6 mm 9 9 mm were machined from the as-sintered
and heat-treated alloys. The deformation tempera-
tures were chosen in the range 1100–1200°C with
an interval of 50°C under a strain rate of 0.01 s 1
and engineering strain of 50%. Hot compression
tests were conducted with a Gleeble 1500D
machine, and the deformed samples were quenched
by water immediately after deformation for
microstructural observation. The deformed
microstructures were investigated using a Quanta
200FEG SEM in electron backscattered diffraction
(EBSD) mode. The samples were mechanically
ground followed by polishing using the electrolytic
method.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Original Microstructures
Figure 1 shows the XRD patterns and morpholo-
gies of the TiAl-based alloys. From the x-ray
diffraction results, it is obvious that the phases of
1825
the as-sintered sample were composed of c-TiAl and
a2-Ti3Al phases, similar to that of the heat-treated
alloy (Fig. 1a). The bulk TiAl-based raw material
with the dimension /105 mm 9 20 mm is shown in
the inset of Fig. 1a. One can see that the TiAl-based
alloy subjected to SPS exhibits a dark appearance as
a result of the carbon paper used in sintering (to
protect the punches). Based on the SEM images, the
morphologies of both alloys had a2 phases (bright
contrast) and c phases (gray contrast), confirming
the XRD results. Although near-gamma morphology
was achieved after sintering (Fig. 1b), it is also
important to note that a higher fraction of the a2
phase resulted from the rapid solidification of
atomized remains after sintering at the present
condition. In addition, very few lamella-like
microstructures were observed because of the local
high temperature during the SPS process (inset of
Fig. 1b). On the other hand, the fraction of a2 phase
reduced after heat-treatment at 1270°C (a + c phase
region) along with the decreasing sizes of the a2
phases (Fig. 1c). This result suggests that more c
phases formed during annealing and, thus, a
microstructure closer to equilibrium was obtained.
Particularly, the volume fraction of lamellae
increased significantly via heat treatment (inset of
Fig. 1c), revealing a duplex microstructure. The
lamellae of the TiAl-based alloys maintained
the Blackburn-orientation relationship (0001)a2//
{111}c.8
Flow Behaviors
Typical true stress–strain curves of the TiAl-
based alloys are presented in Fig. 2a and b at
elevated temperatures. It can be seen that the
stresses increased sharply in the initial deformation
stage because the mechanical hardening effect is
superior to softening mechanisms. With the increas-
ing strain, the stress reached a peak value and then
continuous flow softening occurred for dynamic
recovery (DRY) and dynamic recrystallization
(DRX). When the strains reached a certain value
(e.g., 0.6), the flow stresses attained a stable state
because of the equilibration between work harden-
ing and softening. Under the same deformation
conditions, the peak stresses of the heat-treated
samples were 50 MPa lower than those of the as-
sintered sample. Figure 2c presents the appear-
ances of the deformed samples. All as-sintered
samples had several longitudinal cracks, which
caused fluctuations in the true stress–strain curves
(Fig. 2a). With decreasing deforming temperature,
more severe fracturing appeared in the sintered
sample. In contrast, no cracks were seen in the heat-
treated alloys even at 1100°C, leading to smooth
stress–strain curves (Fig. 2b). Although the near-
gamma and duplex microstructures are believed to
have better formability than near-lamella and full
lamella,9 the alloys having a duplex morphology
with fine grain/lamella prepared by SPS combined
1826 Wang, Zhang, Yuan, and Qiang

Fig. 1. XRD patterns (a) and morphologies [as-sintered (b) and heat-treated (c)] of TiAl-based alloys.

Fig. 2. Flow curves (stress–strain curves) of as-sintered samples (a) and heat-treated samples (b), and images of the deformed samples (c).

with heat treatment exhibited a deforming temper- To understand the effect of a microstructure on
ature 100°C lower than the near-gamma samples deformation behavior better, it is noted that the
fabricated by sintering under identical strain rate. plasticity of the a2 phase can be enhanced by
Effect of Microstructure on the Hot Deformation Behavior of TiAl-Based Alloys Prepared 1827
by Powder Metallurgy Method

Fig. 3. Unique grain color figures (UGCFs) and grain size charts (GSCs) of alloys after deformation at 1100°C: (a) UGCF of the as-sintered alloy,
(b) GSC of the as-sintered alloy, (c) UGCF of the heat-treated alloy, and (d) GSC of the heat-treated alloy (for interpretation of the references to
color, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article).

significant glide activity in the prismatic and pyra-
midal glide systems coupled with nonconservative
dislocation motion at elevated temperatures. It is
still worse than that of the c phase as a result of the
close-packed hexagonal structure. In addition, Li
et al.10 has found that interfacial steps, dislocations,
and homogeneous elastic straining can accommo-
date the poor fitting between the a2 particle and the
matrix in near-gamma TiAl-based alloys, on the
basis of transmission electron microscopy observa-
tions. Therefore, inconsistent deformability at the
boundaries of a2 particles led to the easy occurrence
of cracks inside the as-sintered samples owing to the
higher volume fraction and larger size of a2 phases
caused by the nonequilibrium solidification of
atomized powders (Fig. 1b and c).
Microstructures After Deforming
Figure 3 shows the microstructures of as-sin-
tered and heat-treated samples deformed at
1100°C. It can be seen that all the lamellar
structures transformed to DRX grains based on
unique grain color figures (UGCFs). The deformed
grain size of the as-sintered alloy was uneven
(Fig. 3a); the average value was 1.9 lm, and the
maximum value reached 8.4 lm (Fig. 3b). The
nonuniform grain should cause deformation incom-
patibility and produce stress concentration, which
easily results in defects and cracks during defor-
mation (Fig. 2c). As shown in Fig. 3c, no abnormal
grain growth occurred and the grain size dis-
tributed homogeneously after deformation in the
heat-treated alloy. Although the average value
was also 1.9 lm, the grain area of the heat-treated
alloy exhibited normal distribution (Fig. 3d). Based
on the these results, one can see that the
microstructure evolution after deformation
depends on the original microstructure. The
duplex microstructure in this work can transform
to homogeneously fine equiaxed grain by control-
ling the deforming conditions, which is suitable for
utilization or secondary processing.
1828
Fig. 4. Inverse pole figure (IPF) maps with grain boundaries and grain orientation spread (GOS) maps of heat-treated alloys after deformation at
(a, c) 1100°C and (b, d) 1200°C, in which the LAGBs (<15°) are shown in white (for interpretation of the references to color, the reader is referred
to the Web version of this article).
Figure 4a and b shows the inverse pole fig-
ure (IPF) maps of heat-treated alloys at different
deformation temperatures. The equiaxed grain
structure in the sample deformed at 1200°C was
similar to that at 1100°C. Despite the increase in
deformation temperature by 100°C, the grain size
increased slightly. Meanwhile, the fraction of low-
angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) decreased from
12.3% to 9.4%. No obvious texture was observed in
the deformed samples with different deformation
temperatures, which results from sufficient DRX at
elevated temperatures.
Grain orientation spread (GOS) is the average
difference in orientation between the average grain
orientation and all measurements in one grain.11 A
GOS map can be used to investigate the DRX
Wang, Zhang, Yuan, and Qiang
behavior, depending on a lower GOS value for DRX
grains.12 Figure 4c and d shows the GOS maps of
heat-treated alloys at different deformation temper-
atures. In this alloy, the GOS threshold value of the
recrystallized grains from the deformed ones was
determined to be 2.1°. Therefore, the DRX volume
fractions of the samples deformed at 1100°C and
1200°C were 89.8% and 94.6%, respectively. It is
noted that DRX mainly occurred in the regions with
low GOS values. Although DRX developed more at
higher deformation temperatures, the grains of
heat-treated alloy deformed at 1100°C had almost
completed the DRX process. According to these
results, the TiAl-based alloys with a duplex
microstructure prepared by the PM route combined
with heat treatment in this work can be hot-worked
Effect of Microstructure on the Hot Deformation Behavior of TiAl-Based Alloys Prepared
by Powder Metallurgy Method
at 100°C lower temperature than the near-gamma
microstructure; i.e., a sound appearance and a fine-
deformed microstructure can be achieved. A one-
step process, microstructural-optimized method
(without HIP, cogging, or heat treatment) study on
the synergetic control of rapid solidification (at-
omization) and SPS for desired microstructure
(phase structure, volume fraction, size, etc.) and
hence better formability is underway.
CONCLUSION
The main conclusions in this study that can be
drawn are as follows:
1. The microstructure of the sample subjected to
SPS exhibits near-gamma features with a high-
er amount of a2 phases resulting from the
nonequilibrium solidification. After heat treat-
ment, the duplex microstructure forms and the
fraction of a2 phases decreases significantly with
a reduction in size.
2. The deformation peak stress of the heat-treated
alloy is lower than that of the as-sintered alloy.
No cracks appeared in the heat-treated sample
after hot-deformation at 1100°C. Nevertheless,
the a2 phase (related to rapid solidification)
affects the hot-working behavior and the in-
crease in a2 phases with larger size leads to
cracks, even at 1200°C for the sintered alloy.
After deformation, the microstructure of the as-
sintered sample is uneven, whereas the heat-
treated sample has homogenous grains under
the same deformation conditions.
3. The duplex microstructure obtained by PM
combined with heat treatment can be easily
hot-deformed at a temperature 100°C lower
than the near-gamma microstructure; the
grains can retain their small size even when
the temperature increases to 1200°C. The grains
1829
of the duplex microstructured alloy have almost
completed recrystallization by deforming at
1100°C. The TiAl-based alloys fabricated by
the PM route can have good formability and a
homogeneously deformed microstructure
through microstructural optimization.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge financial
support from the National Natural Science Foun-
dation of China (No. 51674093), the Natural Science
Foundation of Heilongjiang Province (No. E201425),
the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central
Universities (No. HIT.MKSTISP.2016019), and the
Postdoctoral Scientific Research Development Fund
of Heilongjiang Province (No. LBH-Q15040).
REFERENCES
1. H.F. Appel, J.D.H. Paul, and M. Oehring, Gamma Tita-
nium Aluminide Alloys: Science and Technology (Wein-
heim: Wiley-VCH, 2011), pp. 1–3.
2. H. Zhu, T. Wei, D. Carr, R. Harrison, L. Edwards, W.
Hoffelner, D. Seo, and K. Maruyama, JOM 64, 1418 (2012).
3. G.A. Salishchev, R.I. Imayevare, O.N. Senkov, and F.H.
Froes, JOM 52, 46 (2000).
4. R. Zhang, D.J. Wang, S.Q. Liu, H.S. Ding, and S.J. Yuan, J.
Alloys Compd. 688, 542 (2016).
5. S.K. Vajpai and K. Ameyama, Intermetallics 42, 146 (2013).
6. Z. Trzaska, A. Couret, and J.P. Monchoux, Acta Mater. 118,
100 (2016).
7. Y. Sun, L.X. Hu, and J.S. Ren, Mater. Charact. 100, 163
(2015).
8. S.R. Dey, E. Bouzy, and A. Hazotte, Scr. Mater. 57, 365
(2007).
9. L. Cheng, J. Li, X. Xue, B. Tang, H. Kou, and E. Bouzy,
Mater. Sci. Eng. A 678, 389 (2016).
10. J. Li, Y. Liu, B. Liu, Y. Wang, P. Cao, C. Zhou, C. Xiang,
and Y. He, Intermetallics 52, 49 (2014).
11. Y. Zong, D. Wen, Z. Liu, and D. Shan, Mater. Des. 91, 321
(2016).
12. S. Dong, R. Chen, J. Guo, H. Ding, Y. Su, and H. Fu, Mater.
Des. 84, 118 (2015).