Materials Science & Engineering A 733 (2018) 190–198

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Materials Science & Engineering A

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/msea

The effect of boron addition on the high-temperature properties and T

microstructure evolution of high Nb containing TiAl alloys
⁎ ⁎
Mingao Lia,b,c, Shulong Xiaoa,c, , Yuyong Chena,b,c, , Lijuan Xuc, Jing Tianc
a
National Key Laboratory for Precision Hot Processing of Metals, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, PR China
b
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, PR China
c
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, PR China

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The effect of boron addition on the microstructure evolution and high-temperature properties of Ti-43Al-6Nb-
TiAl alloys 1Mo-1Cr alloys has been studied in this paper. With the boron content increasing from 0 at% to 1.0 at%, the
High-temperature properties ultimate tensile strength(UTS) at high temperature increase dramatically while the alloys with 1.0at%B exhibit
Microstructure evolution UTS as 656.12 ± 20.54 MPa at 800 °C, 642.43 ± 14.44 MPa at 850 °C and 508.44 ± 16.12 MPa at 900 °C,
Boron addition
respectively. Meanwhile, boron addition could stabilize the high-temperature UTS of the alloys in 500–700 MPa
Dislocations
Strengthening mechanism
with the temperature incresasing. Three types of strengthening mechanism in high-temperature strength caused
by boron addition are also discussed and concluded.

1. Introduction temperatures are studied in this paper.

TiAl alloys have gained great interest for research on aerospace
applications due to low density and high specific strength in recent
years [1,2]. However, the insufficient high-temperature [3] strength
decided the application and development of TiAl alloys. High-Nb TiAl
alloys have been developed based on the traditional γ-TiAl alloys for
this problem [4]. Boron addition was also an effective way for refine-
ment and TiAl alloys strengthening [5,6]. The crystal structure and
shape of the borides exhibited a large impact on the properties of TiAl
alloys [7,8]. The reduction of boron concentration was attempted to
avoid the long borides precipitates which induced premature cracking
[9]. When nucleation takes place in borides from the β at high tem-
perature, the α nucleation on borides surfaces or the possible α result in
the refinement [10].
Tian [11] et al. found that the increased quantity and volume
fraction of the grain boundaries could provide the high strength for
forged Ti-44Al-8Nb-0.2W-0.2B-0.1Y alloys with fine block-like γ/α2
phases. Niu [12] et al. forged the Ti-43Al-6Nb-1B alloys and found the
broken borides could strengthen the alloys. The recent researches al-
most focus on the boron refinement for strengthening the TiAl alloys at
room temperature. Less researches reported the effect of boron addition
on the high-temperature properties of novel Nb containing TiAl alloys.
Therefore, the effect of boron addition on tensile properties and the
microstructure evolution of Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr alloys at high
Cheng [13] et al. reported that more than 0.3 at% boron was needed
to refine the grain size in Ti-44Al-8Nb while the derivatives and the
compositional undercooling were operative. Hu [14] et al. reported
1.0at%B made beta dendrites much finer in Ti-45Al-2Mn-2Nb-1B al-
loys. Kartavykh [15,16] et al. thought that the boron content over 1 at%
could not cause further refinement. Therefore, the boron content of
addition in this paper were designed as 0, 0,3, 0.6 and 1.0 at%.
2. Experimental
2.1. Materials
The β-solidify alloys were produced by means of induction skull
melting (ISM) and melted under an Ar atmosphere (pressure of ~
800 Pa) while the chemical composition were listed in Table 1. The
present materials used in this study contained Ti bar (99.99 wt%), pure
Al (99.99 wt%), pure Cr (99.99 wt%), Al-Nb alloys (Nb:52.4 at%), Al-
Mo (Mo:50.5 at%) alloys and TiB2 powders (99.99 wt%). The as-cast
alloys were then was hot isostatic pressed (HIPed) at 1200 °C for 4 h
under a pressure of 140 MPa and aged at 900 °C for 48 h.
2.2. High-temperature tensile tests
The tensile tests were applied in Instron-5500 testing machine at

⁎
Corresponding authors at: National Key Laboratory for Precision Hot Processing of Metals, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, PR China
E-mail addresses: xiaoshulong@hit.edu.cn (S. Xiao), yychen@hit.edu.cn (Y. Chen).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2018.07.019
Received 5 April 2018; Received in revised form 8 June 2018; Accepted 6 July 2018
Available online 09 July 2018
0921-5093/ © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
M. Li et al. Materials Science & Engineering A 733 (2018) 190–198

Table 1
The chemical composition, the average grains sizes and the high-temperature properties of Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-xB(x = 0,0.3,0.6,1.0 at%) alloys.
Alloys Chemical Grain sizes(μm) Borides content (at%) Ultimate tensile strength (MPa) Elongation(%)
composition(at%) and distribution
800 °C 850 °C 900 °C 800 °C 850 °C 900 °C

T1 Ti-43Al-6Nb- 584.94 ± 269.23 0, no borides 534.85 ± 16.61 507.36 ± 6.49 379.91 ± 4.30 3.71 ± 0.33 10.25 ± 0.58 15.65 ± 2.21
1Mo-1Cr
T2 Ti-43Al-6Nb- 74.81 ± 31.05 0.22, around the 591.30 ± 4.86 538.38 ± 14.41 441.49 ± 18.06 2.64 ± 0.37 4.64 ± 0.39 6.18 ± 0.15
1Mo-1Cr-0.3B boundaries
T3 Ti-43Al-6Nb- 45.98 ± 27.23 0.52,among the 629.00 ± 0.78 562.25 ± 3.93 506.69 ± 5.82 3.51 ± 0.40 5.57 ± 0.19 8.10 ± 0.57
1Mo-1Cr-0.6B microstructure
T4 Ti-43Al-6Nb- 32.54 ± 12.46 0.83, among the 656.12 ± 20.54 642.43 ± 14.44 508.44 ± 16.12 4.35 ± 0.87 5.97 ± 0.03 19.70 ± 1.82
1Mo-1Cr-1.0B microstructure

800, 850, and 900 °C while the strain rate is 1 × 10−3s−1. Tensile
specimens with 2 mm in thickness and 60 mm in length were cut by
electric discharge method (EDM) from the ingots.
2.3. Microstructure observation
The microstructures were observed on the polished and etched
surfaces by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission
electron microscope (TEM). Thin foils for TEM observation were pre-
pared from 0.5 mm thick slices and ground to about 100 µm in thickness
(3 mm in diameter discs). Then the discs were punched from the slices
and further thinned using a lon-thinning unit. Thin foils were examined
in Talos F200X.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. As-cast microstructure
The SEM images of as-cast microstructure are shown in Fig. 1. With
boron content increasing, the sizes of (α2 +γ) lamellar colonies de-
crease, columnar crystals transform to equiaxed crystal, the segregation
of Nb, Mo and Cr disappear, content of β decrease and stripe shaped
borides appear around the colonies boundaries. The average grain sizes
of as-cast microstructure were estimated by a line intercept technique
on at least ten OM micrographs and are exhibited in Table 1.
The types of borides depends on the alloying element species and
concentration [7,11]. Four kinds of borides were found in TiAl alloys
[16–20]: TiB(B27), TiB(Bf), TiB2(C32) and Ti3B4(D7b). In addition, a
new type of stiochiometric (Ti,Nb)B monoborides grew as single-crys-
talline prismatic rods in Ti-44Al-(7,8)Nb alloys [15,16]. De [21]et al.
also concluded that, when the content of Al was lower than 44 at%,
only TiB would occur in TiAl alloys. Liu [22] et al. found TiB exhibited
orientation relationship [0 1̅ 0]TiB||[1 1̅ 0]γ and (100)TiB|| (11 2̅ )γwith
matrix in Ti-45Al-2Nb-2Mn and Ti-45Al-6.3 (Ta,Nb,B) alloys [23]. The
borides in this paper are ensured as TiB which should also be analyzed
as follow.
The TEM images of borides in as-cast Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-0.6B
alloys are shown in Fig. 2. In Fig. 2(a), the borides form besides bright γ
phase and the region marked by red cubic is exhibited in Fig. 2(b). Lots
of faults could be observed in TiB in Fig. 2(b). In Fig. 2(c), an inter-
mediate phase could be found in the reaction interface and the detailed
IFFT image of region A is listed in Fig. 2(d). Through the chemical
quantitative analysis by TEM, the Ti:Al:Nb:Mo:Cr:B ratio on the inter-
face is 2:1:0.04:0.04:0.04:0.5,which indicates the interface phase is
Ti2Al (P63/mmc) with lattice parameters a= 0.304 nm and
c= 1.369 nm. By the IFFT image in Fig. 2(d), the atom regular ar-
rangement and no dislocations are seen in TiB. In addition, the α2→γ
transformation is a diffusion process while the growth is governed by
diffusion-controlled step mechanism. The orientation relationships be-
tween α2, γ and Ti2Al are (0001)[11 2̅ 0]α2-Ti3Al ||(0001)[11 2̅ 0]Ti2Al
||(111)[0 1̅ 1]γ-TiAl [24]. Yang [25] et al. reported that Ti2Al is inter-
mediate and disordered phase between α2→γ transformation with
dislocation emission and set up the α2→Ti2Al→γ model during creep
deformation. From these references, the Ti2Al phase would strengthen
the interfaces between TiB and matrix partly.
In Fig. 3, much needle shaped and bulk γ form on the boundaries of
(α2 +γ) lamellar colonies in the as-cast microstructure after boron
addition. In Fig. 3(a), bulk γ phase form besides stripe shaped TiB which
occur among the α2/γ lamellae and would be the obstacles for dis-
locations movement. The needle shaped γ phase formation through the
α2/γ lamellae can be seen in Fig. 3(b). These stripe shaped γ might also
be the obstacles for dislocation movement. The bulk γ phase and dis-
locations occur in the bulk γ phase in Fig. 3(c). These dislocations might
be the source of dislocations movement during after high-temperature
tensile deformation.
3.2. High temperature tensile properties
The tensile properties curves and the properties comparison of Ti-
43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-xB(x = 0, 0.3, 0.6 and 1.0 at%) alloys at 800 °C,
850 °C and 900 °C are exhibited in Fig. 4 and Table 1. In Fig. 4(a-c), it
can be found that the ultimate tensile strength(UTS) of alloys increase
with boron content increasing. In Fig. 4(d), the comparison of high-
temperature tensile properties are listed. The high-temperature elon-
gation are reduced after 0.3 at% boron addition while the elongation
increase with boron content increasing from 0.3 at% to 1.0 at%. The

Fig. 1. SEM images of as-cast Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-xB(x = 0,0.3,0.6 and 1.0 at%) alloys: x = (a)0;(b)0.3;(c)0.6; (d)1.0.

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(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig. 2. The microstructure of as-cast Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-0.6B alloys:(a)The TEM bright-field image of borides and γ phase; (b) The TEM bright-field image of red
cubic region in Fig. 2(a); (c)The HRTEM image of TiB, γ phase and the interface phase; (d) IFFT image of TiB phase in region A in Fig. 2(c).

brittle-ductile transition temperature(BDTT) of T1 stay in the range of
800–850 °C which could be ensured in Fig. 4(a-c). Boron addition
would enhance the BDTT of the alloys in the range of 850–900 °C and
cause the brittle fracture and decreased elongation of T2, T3 and T4
alloys below 850 °C. However, a much larger elongation of T4 appear at
900 °C which would be analyzed in Section 3.5.
About the increased high-temperature UTS after boron addition,
two phenomenon could be observed as follow: (i) From above experi-
mental results, boron addition would refine the colonies and increase
the length and fraction of colonies boundaries. The colonies boundaries
are the weak position at high temperatures. Longer and more bound-
aries means more weak positions for cracks formation. Based on this
claim, boron addition would worsen the high-temperature properties of
alloys. However, the alloys were strengthened by boron addition at
high temperatures. (ii) It is all known that the increased temperatures
reduce the strength and enhances the elongation of alloys in the high-
temperature tensile tests. However, the UTS of T1 alloys without boron
addition decreased dramatically, while the UTS of T2, T3 and T4 alloys
with boron addition decreased slowly with temperature increasing. The
distances of tensile curves between alloys with boron addition and the
alloys without boron addition increase with temperature increasing in
Fig. 4(a–c). This phenomenon indicates that boron addition could sta-
bilize the high-temperature UTS of alloys. The reason for these two
phenomenon would be discussed by microstructure evolution in next
section.
3.3. The microstructure evolution in strain region
To clarity the effect of boron addition on the high-temperature
properties, the region should be selected and cut for microstructure

(a) (b) (c)

Dislocations
γ
γ
γ γ
TiB
γ

Fig. 3. The microstructure of as-cast Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-0.6B alloys:(a)The TEM bright-field image of TiB and γ phase; (b) The TEM bright-field image of needle
shaped γ; (c)The dislocations in γ phase.

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M. Li et al.
Fig. 4. The tensile properties curves of Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-xB(x = 0,0.3,0.6 and 1.0 at%) alloys at high temperatures: (a)800 °C;(b)850 °C;(c)900 °C;(d) The high-
temperature tensile properties comparison.
Fig. 5. The microstructure evolution observation region on the tensile prop-
erties tests specimens.
observation from the tensile specimens in Fig. 5
The microstructure of strain region on the tensile specimens of Ti-
43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-xB (x = 0,0.3,0.6 and 1.0 at%) alloys at 800 °C and
850 °C are shown in Fig. 6. In Fig. 6(a), the crack propagation along the
interface of α2/γ lamellae in T1 alloys without boron means that the
α2/γ lamellae interfaces are the weak positions at high temperatures.
With temperatures increasing, the soft β and γ on the colonies bound-
aries would flow to fill the holes caused by cracks. Therefore, β and
γ(white and bright phase) become equiaxed to coordinate the de-
formation of the (α2 +γ) lamellar colonies during the tensile tests in
Fig. 6(e).
In Fig. 6(b,f), the deformation of equiaxed (α2 +γ) lamellar colonies
along the tensile direction compared to the as-cast microstructure in
Fig. 1(b), due to the stress influencing. The β and γ on the colonies
boundaries transform to be equiaxed at 850 °C in Fig. 6(e). The in-
creased temperatures soften the alloys and cause the colonies
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Materials Science & Engineering A 733 (2018) 190–198
deformation due to the alloys flowing at 850 °C.
In Fig. 7, the morphology of broken and buckled TiB are exhibited
by TEM bright-firld images. Fig. 7(a,b) display the buckled TiB through
the (α2 +γ) lamellar while Fig. 7(c) exhibits the broken TiB after high-
temperature tensile tests. The broken and buckled TiB formation in
Fig. 7(c) and Fig. 8(b) indicate that TiB would endure parts of stress
during the high-temperature tensile tests. Comparing Fig. 6(b,c,d) with
Fig. 6(f,g,h), it could be found that more and more broken or buckled
TiB appear with temperature increasing. Temperature increasing would
soften the matrix but TiB could still maintain strength at high tem-
peratures. Therefore, TiB occurring could provide the stability for
strength with temperature increasing.
3.3.1. The weak boundaries
In Fig. 8(a), the crack propagation along the α2/γ lamellae indicates
the first type of weak position. In Fig. 8(c), the holes on the colonies
boundaries could be observed clearly. The boundaries of (α2 +γ) la-
mellar colonies with many dislocations represent high stacking fault
energy. The colonies boundaries are the second type of weak positions
at high temperatures while most of cracks sources form on the colonies
boundaries. The cracks propagation would break the alloys. In Table 1,
the (α2 +γ) lamellar colonies refinement from boron addition would
cause the increased fraction of boundaries in alloys. The longer and
more tortuous boundaries would increase the weak positions to worsen
the high-temperature properties.
3.3.2. The boron solid solution
As the α stabilizer [26], boron could promote α formation and
distribute in the interstitial lattice. The boron addition leads to boron
M. Li et al. Materials Science & Engineering A 733 (2018) 190–198

Fig. 6. The microstructure of Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-xB(x = 0,0.3,0.6 and 1.0 at%) alloys in the tensile properties tests at: (a) 800 °C and (e)850 °C (x = 0);(b) 800 °C
and (f) 850 °C (x = 0.3);(c) 800 °C and (g) 850 °C (x = 0.6);(d) 800 °C and (h) 850 °C (x = 1.0).

(a) (b) (c)

A TiB
TiB
TiB

Fig. 7. The TEM bright-field images of broken and buckled TiB in high-temperature tensile tests at 900 °C:(a)The buckled TiB in as-cast Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-0.6B
alloys;(b)The image in region of Fig. 7(a) and the corresponding selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns of TiB;(c) The broken TiB in as-cast Ti-43Al-6Nb-
1Mo-1Cr- 1.0B alloys.

atoms solid solute into the matrix alloys. The boron solid solution
causes solid solution strengthen to strengthen α and γ phase. The α2/γ
lamellae strengthened by boron addition enhance the high-tempera-
tures strength.
3.3.3. The (α2 +γ) lamellae obstacles
In Fig. 9(a), many dislocations are hindered by the α2/γ lamellae
and pile up in the (α2 +γ) lamellar colonies. The α2/γ lamellae act as
the obstacles for dislocations movement to strengthen the alloys at high
temperatures. Long stripe shaped TiB distributing among the α2/γ la-
mellae and the dislocations around them can be also seen in Fig. 9(b).

(a) (b) (c)

Crack growth Broken TiB Holes on boundary

Fig. 8. The microstructure of Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-xB(x = 0.3,0.6 and 1.0 at%) alloys in the tensile properties tests at 900 °C: (a) x = 0.3;(b) x = 0.6; (c) x = 1.0.

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(a) (b) (c)

(α2+γ) lamellae
TiB α2 Dislocations
Dislocations
TiB

Dislocations

Fig. 9. The TEM bright-field images of TiB and α2/γ lamella in high-temperature tensile tests at 900 °C:(a)The TiB and α2/γ lamella obstacles for dislocations
slipping-up in as-cast Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-0.6B alloys; (b)The α2 obstacles besides TiB for dislocations in as-cast Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-0.6B alloys; (c) The α2/γ
lamella obstacles in as-cast Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr- 1.0B alloys.

The dislocations movement are prevented by the special structure
consisting of TiB and the α2/γ lamellae. In this case, TiB could also
hinder the cracks propagation along the lamellae interfaces. In addi-
tion, the hard bulk α2 besides TiB could also hinder dislocation slipping
up due to less slip systems in hexagonal structure in Fig. 9(c).
Detailed analysis showed that no slip systems could transfer freely
into neighbouring lamellae without leaving fragments of dislocations
on the interfaces [27]. Most of the dislocations left on the lamellar
interfaces should have Burgers vectors out of the interfacial plane.
Those dislocations can apply a back stress to their successors [28].
These types of dislocations block cause the increased strength at high
temperatures.
3.3.4. The borides strengthening
In Section 3.1, much stripe or needle shaped TiB distribute among
the as-cast microstructure after boron addition. When the boron content
is below 0.3 at%, only little TiB form along the colonies boundaries.
With boron content increasing, TiB content would be increased, the TiB
would be much longer and distribute not only along the colonies
boundaries but also in the colonies. In addition, from Section 3.1, re-
duced boron concentration below a certain level would change the
borides morphology from straight rod shape or ribbon shape to a curvy
ribbon shape. Different shape and morphology borides would influ-
ences the microstructure evolution during tensile tests.
TiB acts as the obstacle for dislocations slipping-up while disloca-
tions piling-up on the TiB surfaces, as exhibited in Fig. 10. The details of
region A and B can be observed in Fig. 10(b,c). The dislocations pile up
when they slip to the TiB surfaces. The anomalous strengthening me-
chanism is related to the cross-slip of < 011] superdislocations and 1/
2 < 110] ordinary dislocations in TiAl alloys [29]. Li et al. [30] re-
ported that the cross-slip of superdislocations occurring more easily and
the pinning effect of the dislocation locks being more remarkable led to
strengthening at 700 °C, with the further temperature increasing above
700 °C, dislocation sliding and climbing could be activated. The dis-
locations block could strengthen the alloys effectively at high tem-
peratures [31–33].
In addition, much deformation could be seen besides TiB in
Fig. 11(a,b). In the TEM bright-field images, TiB maintain the shape and
many deformation regions distribute in the α2/γ lamellae along TiB. It
means that α2/γ lamellae would deform but the hard TiB would not
deform during the tensile test at high temperatures. TiB formation
would increase the resistance for plastic deformation. In Fig. 11(c), the
dislocation piling-up on the TiB surfaces indicates that TiB obstacles
could hinder dislocations movement. Dislocations block could
strengthen the alloys. In this case, a conclusion can be ensured which
TiB would strengthen the alloys. The TiB or TiB2 would still maintain
the strength below 1000 °C [34]. The borides act as the ligament
bridges during the crack propagating and these phase were broke off or
pulled out of the matrix when the alloy break [35]. In the high-tem-
perature tensile tests, therefore, various types of TiB could hinder the
deformation of matrix alloys and dislocation movement, which would
cause stress concentration around the TiB.
3.4. The strengthening mechanism
Based on the above microstructure observation, three types of
strengthening mechanism caused by boron addition could be concluded
in Fig. 12. The first type of strengthening mechanism results from the

(a) (b) (c)

Dislocations

A TiB

TiB
Dislocations

Fig. 10. The TEM bright-field images of TiB obstacles and dislocations in high-temperature tensile tests at 900 °C:(a)The TiB obstacle for dislocations slipping-up in
as-cast Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-0.3B alloys; (b)The image of region A in Fig. 10(a); (c) The image of region B in Fig. 10(a).

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M. Li et al. Materials Science & Engineering A 733 (2018) 190–198

(b)
(a)
TiB

A
Deformation

TiB (c)

Dislocations
TiB
B

Fig. 11. The TEM bright-field images of TiB obstacles and dislocations after high-temperature tensile tests at 900 °C:(a)The TiB obstacle for dislocations slipping-up in
as-cast Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-0.3B alloys; (b)The image of region A in Fig. 11(a); (c) The image of region B in Fig. 11(a).

α2/γ lamellae with boron solid solution. Boron solid solution strength
increased strength of α2/γ lamellae. In Fig. 12(a), dislocations move-
ment hindered by the strengthened α2/γ lamellae and piling-up on the
interfaces of α2/γ lamellae. The increased dislocation block in
strengthened α2/γ lamellae would increase the matrix strength.
The second type of strengthening mechanism is caused by TiB for-
mation besides α2 or on the colonies boundaries, such as the TiB and
bulk α2 and γ in Fig. 3. In Fig. 12(b), TiB obstacles hinder dislocations
movement to increase the strength of alloys directly. In addition, boron
addition refine the grains and cause the fraction of colonies boundaries
increasing. The colonies boundaries with high stacking energy are the
weak positions and are always the cracks sources at high temperatures.
The refinement worsen the high-temperature properties of alloys.
Nevertheless, TiB formation through the colonies boundaries could pin
the boundaries and hinder the crack propagation, which could
strengthen the weak boundaries at high temperatures.
The third type of strengthening mechanism results from the special
structure between TiB and α2/γ lamellae. This special structure appear
commonly in Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-(0.3,0.6,1.0 at%)B alloys. In
Fig. 12(c), two types of interfaces could hinder dislocations movement
to strengthen alloys: (i)The interfaces of α2/γ lamellae; (ii)The inter-
faces between TiB and α2/γ lamellae. Additionally, the stable trique-
trous structure consisting of TiB and α2/γ lamellae could also hinder
dislocations movement and crack formation along the interface of α2/γ
lamellae. This triquetrous structure provides increased and stable
strength at high temperatures for the alloys..
3.5. The variety of elongation
The TiB pin the lamellar interfaces and the colonies boundaries to
prevent the cracks propagation. However, the TiB obstacles hinder the
dislocations movement and cause dislocation piling-up. The increased
content of dislocation block causes more stress concentration and
cracks nucleation. These two factors influence the elongation together.
In Fig. 4, the T1 alloys exhibited ductile fracture and plastic deforma-
tion in the tensile tests above 850 °C. However, boron addition
strengthening and hardening the alloys were discussed in Section 3.4.
Therefore, when the T2, T3 and T4 alloys were tested below

Fig. 12. The strengthening mechanism by boron addition in Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-xB(x = 0,0.3,0.6 and 1.0 at%) alloys: (a) Dislocation block on the interface of α2/γ
lamellae and increased strength by boron solid solution α2/γ lamellae;(b) TiB obstacles for dislocation block and TiB pinning colonies boundaries;(c) The
strengthening mechanism from stable triquetrous structure consists of TiB and α2/γ lamellae.

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M. Li et al.
850 °C(included 850 °C), the strengthening effect would reduce the
trend of plastic deformation in these alloys. The stress concentration
from TiB could not be released quickly in a moment. In this case, the
effect of stress concentration is much larger than the effect of TiB
pinning on the alloys. It would cause the brittle fracture of T2, T3 and
T4 alloys below 850 C(included 850 °C) and the BDTT of T2, T3 and T4
increasing. The elongation are decreased dramatically after 0.3 at%
boron addition in Fig. 4(d). The temperature increasing would further
activate the slipping systems in matrix. The more slipping systems
provide positions for dislocations movement to release the stress con-
centration. With TiB content increasing, meanwhile, the dislocation
block with low energy would be divided by more TiB. The stress con-
centration could not reach critical values of cracking in a moment,
which provide time for the dislocation movement. The increased tem-
perature also promote the dislocations movement and reduce the stress
concentration around the TiB. Dislocations movement promote plastic
deformation and cause the ductile fracture in T2, T3 and T4 at 900 °C.
In addition, the TiB would pin the weak boundaries and interfaces to
impede cracking. Therefore, the elongation are increased less(to be
stable) below 850 C with boron increasing due to less slipping systems
at low temperature. The elongation are enhanced more with boron
increasing at 900 °C due to more slipping systems and less stress con-
centration.
In addition, the elongation of T4 alloys is much larger than the T2
and T3 alloys at 900 °C. Because the TiB obstacles content in T4 is much
larger than that in T2 and T3, dislocations block would be divided into
different parts by TiB obstacles. The separated dislocation block in-
dicate the separated stress concentration and the low energy. The low
and divided stress concentration could not cause cracking but increase
the strength. The separated dislocations block need much more time to
absorb the energy from dislocations movement. Li [30] et al. also re-
ported that the plastic deformation of TiAl alloy takes place mainly by
dislocation movements or mechanical twinning. If the energy of dis-
location block can not reach the critical values of TiB breaking, the
dislocations movement would be sustained until TiB broken by stress
concentration. The sustained dislocation movement provide the in-
creased plastic deformation for T4 alloys. In addition, much more TiB
pining the colonies boundaries and lamellar interfaces would prevent
the cracks formation and propagation. This factor guarantees the alloys
not being broken during plastic deformation. Therefore, the T4 alloys
with 1.0 at%B display much larger elongation than T2 and T3 alloys at
900 °C due to much more TiB. The less TiB obstacles in T2 and T3 alloys
cause the ductile fracture during yielding.
4. Conclusion
The (α2 + γ) lamellae with βo and γo phase occur in the as-cast
microstructure of Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-xB(x = 0, 0.3, 0.6 and 1.0 at%)
alloys. From high-temperature tensile curves, the effect of boron addi-
tion on the high-temperature properties and strengthening mechanism
were concluded as follow.
(1) Boron addition could increase the high-temperature UTS of Ti-43Al-
6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-xB(x = 0, 0.3, 0.6 and 1.0 at%) alloys. With the
boron content increasing from 0 at% to 1.0 at%, the high-tem-
perature UTS increase dramatically and the alloys with 1.0at%B
exhibit UTS as 656.12 ± 20.54 MPa at 800 °C,
642.43 ± 14.44 MPa at 850 °C and 508.44 ± 16.12 MPa at
900 °C, respectively.
(2) Boron addition could stabilize the high-temperature UTS of Ti-
43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr-xB(x = 0, 0.3, 0.6 and 1.0 at%) alloys. With
temperatures increasing, the UTS of the alloys without boron ad-
dition decrease dramatically, but the UTS of the alloys with boron
addition maintains stability in the range of 500–700 MPa due to TiB
obstacles for dislocations block.
(3) Boron addition would enhance the brittle-ductile transition
197
Materials Science & Engineering A 733 (2018) 190–198
temperature and reduce the elongation of Ti-43Al-6Nb-1Mo-1Cr
alloys below the BDTT. 0.3 at%B decrease the high-temperature
elongation dramatically while the elongation increase with boron
content increasing from 0.3 at% to 1.0 at%. The 1.0 at% boron ad-
dition could increase the elongation of alloys dramatically at
900 °C.
(4) Three types of strengthening mechanism in high-temperature
strength are caused by boron addition.(i)Boron solid solution
strengthening in α2/γ lamellae; (ii)TiB obstacles for dislocation
block and pinning the weak colonies boundaries; (iii) The stable
triquetrous structure consisting of TiB and α2/γ lamellae. These
three types of strengthening mechanism improve the high-tem-
perature strength by strengthening the weak colonies boundaries
and the lamellar interfaces.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (No. 51001040 and No.51371064) and the
Shanghai Aerospace Science and Technology Innovation Fund
(SAST201428).
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