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Procedia Structural Integrity 14 (2019) 782–789

2nd International Conference on Structural Integrity and Exhibition 2018

2nd International Conference on Structural Integrity and Exhibition 2018
Effect of Temperature and Cooling Rates on the α+β Morphology of
Effect of Temperature and Cooling Rates on the α+β Morphology of
Ti-6Al-4V Alloy
Ti-6Al-4V Alloy
Afroz Shaikha*, Santosh Kumaraa, Ashish Dawariaa, Shreyas Kirwaiaa, Atul Patilaa,
Afroz Shaikh , Santosh KumarRajkumar
a*
, Ashish Dawari
Singha , Shreyas Kirwai , Atul Patil ,
Rajkumar Singha
a
Kalyani Centre for Technology & Innovation, Bharat Forge Ltd, Pune- 411036, India
a
Kalyani Centre for Technology & Innovation, Bharat Forge Ltd, Pune- 411036, India

Abstract
Abstract
Ti-6Al-4V is a dual phase (α+β) titanium alloy widely used in aerospace industry. Mechanical properties of a component strongly
Ti-6Al-4V
depend upon is a its
dualmicrostructure
phase (α+β) titanium alloy widelyDesired
and morphology. used in mechanical
aerospace industry. Mechanical
properties can be properties
achieved by of athe
component strongly
development of
depend uponmicrostructure
appropriate its microstructure
with and
the morphology. Desired
help of different heatmechanical
treatmentsproperties can be achieved
and deformation. by the development
In the present work, differentof
appropriate
microstructuresmicrostructure with different
obtained through the helpheatof treatment
different processes
heat treatments andand
are studied deformation.
presented. AInvarietythe present work, different
of morphologies of α+β
microstructures
microstructure are obtained through
obtained different
by heating aboveheat
andtreatment
below β processes are studiedand
transus temperature andcooling
presented. A variety
at different of morphologies
rates i.e. water quench,of α+β
air
microstructure
cool and furnace arecool.
obtained by heating
Heating above βabove andand
transus below β transus
cooling with temperature andresults
different rates coolingintoat lamellar
differentstructure
rates i.e. whereas
water quench, air
a duplex
cool and furnace
microstructure cool. Heating
is obtained above βbelow
after heating transus and cooling
β transus with different
and cooling rates results
with different rates. Ainto lamellar
lamellar structure
structure whereas
with blockyaacicular
duplex
microstructure is obtained
α is obtained after heating after
aboveheating below
β transus β transus
followed and cooling
by furnace cool with
up todifferent rates.below
temperature A lamellar structure
β transus with blocky
and cooling acicular
with different
α is obtained
rates. after heating
It is observed above rate
that cooling β transus
has afollowed byeffect
significant furnaceoncool up to of
hardness temperature
heat treatedbelow
sample.β transus
Fasterand cooling
cooling with in
results different
higher
rates. It is observed that cooling rate has a significant effect on hardness of heat treated sample. Faster cooling results in higher
hardness.
hardness.
© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
© 2019
© 2018 The
TheAuthors.
Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. B.V.
This is an open accessPublished by Elsevier
article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
This is an and
Selection openpeer-review
access article under
under the CC BY-NC-ND
responsibility of licenseunder
Peer-review (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
responsibility of the
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Peer-review under responsibility of the SICE 2018SICE 2018 organizers.
organizers.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Peer-review under responsibility of the SICE 2018 organizers.
Keywords: Ti-6Al-4V; Martensite ά ; Primary α; Tranformed β; Microstructure evolution.
Keywords: Ti-6Al-4V; Martensite ά ; Primary α; Tranformed β; Microstructure evolution.

*Corresponding author. Tel.: 020-6727-1991

*Corresponding
E-mail address:author. Tel.: 020-6727-1991
afroz.shaikh@bharatforge.com
E-mail address: afroz.shaikh@bharatforge.com

2452-3216 © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

This is an ©
2452-3216 open
2018access article under
The Authors. theby
Published CCElsevier
BY-NC-ND
B.V. license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Selection
This is an and
openpeer-review under
access article responsibility
under of Peer-review
the CC BY-NC-ND licenseunder responsibility of the SICE 2018 organizers.
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Peer-review under responsibility of the SICE 2018 organizers.

2452-3216  2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Peer-review under responsibility of the SICE 2018 organizers.
10.1016/j.prostr.2019.07.056
2 Afroz Shaikh / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

Afroz Shaikh et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 14 (2019) 782–789 783

1. Introduction

Titanium alloys are used for a variety of applications because of their superior properties such as high strength,
low density, excellent corrosion resistance, etc. Applications of this alloy include aerospace components (high
strength in combination with low density), biomedical devices (bio compatibility, corrosion resistance & high
strength) and components in chemical processing equipment (corrosion resistance) [Dawari and Kashyap (2015)].
Titanium alloys are categorized into three groups namely, α alloys, β alloys and α-β alloys depending on the type and
amount of alloying elements which decide the phases which will be present at room temperature [Shaikh et al.
(2016)].
The mechanical properties of titanium alloys are more dependent on the phases present than on the actual
composition of the alloy. Substitutional elements partially replace the titanium atoms in the lattice and thus, alter the
properties. The phases present in these alloys are dependent on the heat treatment process. Most alloying elements
stabilize the body centered cubic (BCC) β phase and lower the temperature of transformation (called β transus) to
such an extent that at room temperature the alloys have a mixture of both α and β phase. A work by Jadhav et al.
(2017) shows that in heat-treated specimens, the tensile strength and hardness decrease with the increase in the
volume fraction of α. So, depending upon volume fraction of these phases, mechanical properties can be varied.
Three different types of microstructures can be obtained by changing thermo mechanical processing route:
equiaxed, lamellar (widmanstatten) and bi-modal (duplex) containing equiaxed primary α (αp) in a lamellar α+β
matrix. Previous work by Loier et al. (1985) has indicated that lamellar microstructure exhibits better fatigue
propagation resistance as compared to that of equiaxed microstructure. Equiaxed microstructure provides better
fatigue crack initiation resistance but poorer propagation resistance than lamellar microstructure [Peter et al. (2003)].
Bimodal microstructures exhibit well-balanced fatigue properties [Fan et al. (2016)], since they combine the
advantages of both lamellar microstructure (i.e., higher fatigue crack propagation resistance) and equiaxed
microstructure (i.e., higher fatigue crack initiation resistance).
Initial microstructural parameters such as the fraction of α and β phases, the morphology & thickness of α-laths,
the size of α colony (i.e. the geometrical arrangement of α and β-phases) also have major effect on the mechanical
properties of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy. A work by Lütjering et al. (1995) has shown that among all the microstructural
characteristics, the size of α colony has the most significant effect on the mechanical properties. He has furthermore
shown that parameters such as the cooling rate from the β phase field, the initial β grain size and the presence of
interstitial impurities (oxygen and carbon), can affect the geometrical arrangement within the microstructure of the
Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The cooling rate is most important parameter affecting microstructural development. Slow and
intermediate cooling rates lead to nucleation and growth of α-lamellae into the β grains through a diffusion
controlled process, whereas, higher cooling rates lead to formation of martensitic α (ά ) through diffusion less
transformation.
In the present work, different microstructures obtained through different heat treatment processes is studied and
presented. Furthermore, the effect of different microstructures on hardness is also presented.

2. Experimental work

The material used in this study is Ti-6Al-4V alloy rod of size Ø85 mm x 210 mm. Material was supplied by the
TIMET Metal Corporation. The material (VAR - Vacuum Arc Remelted) was in rolled condition. The β transition
temperature for the material was 995 °C as given by supplier considering top, bottom and middle portion of the
ingot. The chemical composition of the material is listed in Table 1.
784 Afroz Shaikh et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 14 (2019) 782–789
Afroz Shaikh / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000 3

Table 1. Chemical composition

Al V Fe O Sn Cu Mo Ti

Wt % 6.43 4.11 0.14 0.2 <0.04 <0.04 <0.04 Bal

In order to obtain different microstructures, different heat treatment processes were employed,
1. Heat treatment cycle 1 (HT 1): Heating above β transition temperature, followed by different cooling rates
(water quenched - WQ, air cooled - AC and furnace cooled - FC).
2. Heat treatment cycle 2 (HT 2): Heating below β transition temperature followed by different cooling rates
(WQ, AC and FC).
3. Heat treatment cycle 3 (HT 3): Heating above β transition temperature then furnace cool up to 950 °C and
then cooling with different cooling rates (WQ, AC and FC).
The details of the heat treatment cycles are presented in Fig. 1. One inch by one inch specimens were prepared
for Heat treatment. Heat treatment was carried out in Therlek Box Type muffle furnace. Furnace has a chamber size
of 300 mm × 300 mm × 450 mm in which a maximum temperature of 1200 °C can be reached. Furnace has 12 nos.
of Silicon carbide heating elements. Heat-treated specimens were etched using Kroll etchant (92 ml H 2O, 2 ml HF
and 6 ml HNO3) for microstructure analysis. Microstructural analysis was done using CARL ZEISS optical
microscope with Image Analyzer software Z.2m.

Fig. 1. Different heat treatment cycles (a) HT 1 (b) HT 2 (c) HT 3.

3. Results

3.1. Microstructural analysis

The microstructure of as received material is shown in Fig. 2. Microstructure is of duplex type consisting of
primary equiaxed α and transformed β. Volume fraction of α phase is around 75% and that of transformed β is
around 25%. Hardness of as received material is 330 HV.

The microstructure obtained after HT 1 is shown in Fig. 3. Water quenched specimen shows acicular ά
martensitic microstructure (Fig. 3a-b) whereas a lamellar type of microstructure consisting of acicular α and
transformed β with grain boundary α on the prior β grains is obtained after air cooling (Fig. 3c-d). Upon furnace
cooling a coarse lamellar (Plate like) type of microstructure consisting of α and β is obtained (Fig. 3e-f).
4 Afroz Shaikh / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

Afroz Shaikh et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 14 (2019) 782–789 785

Fig. 2. As received microstructure of Ti6Al4V.

a b

Prior β grain
boundaries

c d Grain
boundary α

Colonies of
acicular α and
transformed β

e f
α at Prior
β grain
boundaries

Fig. 3. Microstructure of heat treated samples (a-b) 1050 °C & WQ; (c-d) 1050 °C & AC; (e-f) 1050 °C & FC.
786 Afroz Shaikh et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 14 (2019) 782–789
Afroz Shaikh / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000 5

The microstructure obtained after HT 2 is shown in Fig. 4. Water cooled specimen shows microstructure
consisting of acicular ά martensite and primary α (Fig. 4a-b) whereas a duplex type of microstructure consisting of
primary α and lamellar mixture of α and β is obtained after air cooling (Fig. 4c-d). Upon furnace cooling a coarse
duplex type of microstructure is obtained (Fig. 4e-f).

a b

Primary α

c d

Acicular α

e f

Fig. 4. Microstructure of heat treated samples (a-b) 950 °C & WQ; (c-d) 950 °C & AC; (e-f) 950 °C & FC.

The microstructure obtained after HT 3 is shown in Fig. 5. Water quenched specimen shows a microstructure
which consists of acicular ά martensite and broken lamella of α (Fig. 5a-b) whereas microstructure consisting of
broken blocky lamella of α and plate-like acicular α and β is obtained after air cooling (Fig. 5c-d). Upon furnace
cooling, coarse broken lamellar mixture of α and β with grain boundary α on the prior β grains is obtained (Fig. 5e-
f).

3.2. Hardness results

The result of hardness test is shown in Fig. 6. In all heat treatment cycles, faster cooling (WQ) results in higher
hardness and least hardness is observed in case of furnace cooled specimen. The hardness values of WQ specimen is
approximately 19% - 26% higher as compared to the AC specimen. Hardness of AC specimen is approximately 3%
 Afroz Shaikh et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 14 (2019) 782–789 787
6 Afroz Shaikh / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

- 14% higher as compared to that of FC specimen. The highest hardness (472.5 HV) is obtained for the heat
treatment cycle HT 3 followed by WQ. Thus, it can be observed that cooling rate has a significant effect on the
hardness of the sample.

a b

Martensitic α (α’)

Blocky Acicular α

c d

Plate-like Acicular α

e f

Fig .5. Microstructure of heat treated samples (a-b) 1050°C FC up to 950 °C & WQ; (c-d) 1050°C FC up to 950 °C & AC; (e-f) 1050°C FC up to
950 °C & FC.

Fig. 6. Influence of solution treatment and cooling rate on hardness of Ti6Al4V alloy.
788 Afroz Shaikh et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 14 (2019) 782–789
Afroz Shaikh / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000 7

4. Discussions

Heating of titanium alloys above the β transus temperature changes its crystal structure from HCP to BCC.
Quenching from this region leads to formation of martensitic α' which is thermodynamically unstable phase [Peter et
al. (1982)]. As the transformation does not involve diffusion, α' and β regions have the same chemical composition.
Slow cooling from ‘above the β transus’ into the two-phase region results in the formation of Widmanstatten
colonies of α+β. The mechanism of transformation from β to α phase with cooling is shown in Fig. 7. Upon cooling,
α phase precipitates from the β phase where it nucleates at the incoherent interfaces such as prior β grain boundaries
[Peter et al. (1982)]. α phase grows in a lamellar fashion into the interior of the β grains where its final length is
restricted by the prior β grain size. The widths of the lamellar platelets are controlled by diffusion hence, coarsening
occurs when the cooling rates are slower.
Heating below the β transus temperature followed by cooling results into a duplex microstructure consisting of
primary α and transformed β. The volume fraction of primary α and transformed β is governed by heat treatment
temperature. With increase in temperature, the volume fraction of transformed β increases. Cooling rate influences
the primary α grain size and width of α lamellae. From the microstructure (Fig. 4.) it is also observed that faster
cooling rate (WQ) have produced finer grain structure. Slower cooling (FC) has produced coarse α lamella whereas
air cooling has produced fine α lamella.

Fig. 7. Widmanstatten microstructure development in Ti-6Al-4V [Donachie (1988)].

In general, α phase is harder compared to β phase. The β to α martensitic transformation induced by rapid cooling
leads to the formation of α' phase. The lattice parameter of α' can be different from “normal” α (diffusion controlled
β to α transformation). α' is supersaturated with β stabilizing elements. As, there is no severe distortion of the lattice
in titanium by interstitials (like in steels), so α' normally has a similar hardness as that of α. Sometimes β phase can
be harder as compared to α'. This characteristic is governed by several factors such as the amount of solvent element,
secondary phases and their distribution, grain size and boundaries etc.
 Afroz Shaikh et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 14 (2019) 782–789 789
8 Afroz Shaikh / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

5. Conclusions

Following type of microstructures are obtained after different heat treatment cycles,

HT 1 HT 2 HT 3

Martensitic structure Martensitic structure

Primary α, α’ and
WQ consists αʹ and consists αʹ, and
Transformed β.
Transformed β. transformed β
Duplex type structure
Lamellar structure Lamellar structure
consists primary equiaxed
AC consists acicular α and consists blocky and plate-
α, acicular α and
Transformed β. like acicular α and β
Transformed β.

Primary equiaxed α, Lamellar structure

Lamellar (Plate like)
FC acicular α and small consists blocky acicular α
structure consists α and β.
amount of intergranular β. and β.

Cooling rate has a significant effect on hardness. WQ possess higher hardness as compared to other cooling rates.
Highest hardness is observed in heat treatment cycle HT 3 whereas lowest hardness is observed in heat treatment
cycle HT 2.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the extended support provided to this work by KCTI (Kalyani Centre for
Technology & Innovation) for providing financial funding, laboratory and library facilities. The authors also
acknowledge the support provided by Bharat Forge Ltd, Pune and DSIR (Department of Scientific and Industrial
Research), Govt. of India. Finally, the authors would like to express special thanks and gratitude to review
committee and top management of Bharat Forge Ltd for granting the permission to publish/present the research
work.

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