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Textbook Advanced Methods and Technologies in Metallurgy in Russia 1St Edition Stavros Syngellakis Ebook All Chapter PDF
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Innovation and Discovery in Russian Science and Engineering
Stavros Syngellakis
Jerome J. Connor Editors
J.W. Newkirk · A.G. Illarionov
A.S. Zhilin Associate Editors
Advanced Methods
and Technologies in
Metallurgy in Russia
Innovation and Discovery in Russian Science
and Engineering
Series editors
Carlos Brebbia
Wessex Institute of Technology, Southampton, United Kingdom
Jerome Connor
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
A.S. Zhilin
Institute of New Materials
and Technologies
Ural Federal University
Yekaterinburg, Russia
The present book is devoted to the topical issues of industrial science with partic-
ular focus on advanced methods and technologies in metallurgy.
Rapidly developing industry demands fundamentally innovative materials
possessing enhanced mechanical, magnetic, and other specific properties.
Manufacturing a new product in metallurgy is inherently connected with a large
number of problems related to obtaining initial bars and their heat, mechanical, and
other types of treatment. Technological processes of production are determined by
the properties of the initial material.
A number of solutions to the problem of material characterization of compli-
cated alloys have been suggested. Constant improvements of the requirements for
materials result in the development of complex alloys with different elements. Such
industries as aviation force scientists to improve the characteristics of titanium and
invar alloys, high-strength steels, and nanocrystalline alloys. Alloying effects in
each element cannot be precisely predicted; therefore, it is essential to conduct
experiments analyzing the properties of new materials in order to introduce these
alloys into the technological process.
New approaches to heat and surface treatment of materials have been intro-
duced. In order to obtain the materials properties required, it is necessary to conduct
thorough research into the processes of phase transformations. The data about
quality and quantity composition of phases in materials guarantee their adequate
usage at various temperatures.
New data have been gathered in the field of ferrous metals metallurgy; more
specifically, the design calculation of ferroalloys based on raw materials has been
determined. Interest in the topic is mostly triggered by the problem of industrial
recycling. Solving the problem will allow improving the technological process
while minimizing electricity consumption, as well as reducing the toxic waste
disposal into the atmosphere.
Energy savings in pyrometallurgy enable proper control of blast furnace
smelting. The principles of selection of new technologies and risk assessment are
v
vi Preface
vii
viii Contents
1 Introduction
The studied materials were hot-rolled sheets after vacuum annealing at 700 C for
30 min of near-β-titanium alloy similar to VT35 of system Ti-Al-V-Cr-Sn-Zr,
(Aleq ¼ 4.3%, Moeq ¼ 16.8%) microalloyed with 0.1 wt.% yttrium (alloy 1) and
0.1 wt.% yttrium þ 0.1 wt.% germanium (alloy 2). Research of the structure was
carried out with optical and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) instruments
on the devices Neophot 2 and JEM-200C, respectively. The X-ray analysis was
realized on the diffractometer DRON-3 M in filter Cu Кα radiation. Thermal
analysis (DTA) was made on the DuPont thermoanalyzer with completed console
DSC-910. Microhardness was measured by means of the Neophot 2 device used
load 100 g.
The regular polyhedral β-grains with average sizes 90 5 (alloy 1) and
100 5 μm (alloy 2) were observed in the initial state structures (Fig. 1.1a). The
electron microscopic analysis showed the presence of dispersed second-phase
particles ranging in size from 50 to 100 nm (smaller particles were characteristic
of the alloy 2, larger for alloy 1) in the β-matrix for both alloys. The particles are
located predominantly near β-grain boundaries (Fig. 1.1b). The electron pattern
calculation for particle-rich regions allowed to identify particles as yttrium oxide
Y2O3 (Fig. 1.1c). There were diffuse bands associated with the matrix reflexes
β-solid solution on the electron patterns. The observed shape of the bands is
associated by Tyapkin [11] with the formation of preliminary precipitation α-
particles in the metastable β-phase. Developed dislocation structure with the for-
mation of planar dislocation clusters and “tangles” was fixed into β-grain bodies of
both alloys. This fact proved the incomplete removal of work hardening in the
sheets during vacuum annealing.
It was shown with X-ray analysis that a different micro-alloying of alloys 1 and
2 affects the initial β-solid solution state. β-solid solution lines was only fixed in the
alloy 1. While there were weak lines of orthorhombical α00 -phase in the alloy
2 additionally. Despite such difference of the phase composition the lattice
β-phase periods were close to 0.323 nm as alloy 1 as alloy 2. The microhardness
values of the alloys were nearby as well (2400–2450 MPa). The β-transus temper-
ature (Tβ) of alloy 2 (710 C) determined by DTA method was higher than that of
alloy 1 (Тβ ¼ 700 C). This fact and X-ray analysis suggested that germanium in the
alloy 2 works as α-stabilizer when it is in β-solid solution. It agrees with the data of
Liu et al. [12].
In common, yttrium microadding leads to formation of disperse particles of
Y2O3 oxide in the β-matrix, which mainly is situated in a grain boundary areas.
Additional germanium microadding slightly reduces the stability of β-phase and
increases Тβ due to of its α-stabilizing action. Germanium intermetallics or oxides
were not found.
Near-β-alloys can be effectively strengthened by quenching and subsequent
aging. The influence of the quenching temperature in the two cases βþα- and
β-quench on the structure and phase composition of alloys 1 and 2 was studied.
1 Effect of Microalloying on the Structure and Phase Composition of Near. . . 5
Fig. 1.1 The structures of alloys 1 (a)–(c) and 2 (d) in initial state: (а) optical microphotography
(OM), (b)–(d) TEM, (b) and (d) bright field, and (c) electron pattern from “b” axis zone [12–3]
Y2O3 [003]β
The first temperature of αþβ-region was 660 C, and the second one of β-region
was 730 C with endurance for 15 min and when water cooling.
Metastable β-solid solution was fixed by quenches in both alloys 1 and 2 from
660 С to 730 С. Apparently 15 min exposure at the (βþα)-temperature region
660 С does not provide the decomposition of initial metastable β-solid solution.
Illarionov et al. [13] saw the similar effect early in the alloy VТ35 during isother-
mal treatment. Therefore the β-phase lattice periods in the alloys after quenching
from both temperatures were equal to – 0.3228 nm (alloy 1) and 0.3235 nm (alloy
2). Higher β-lattice period of alloy 2 can be explained as follows. Firstly, Zwicker
[14] found that the lattice period β- and α-phases in titanium alloys strongly
influenced from the amount of impurities; in particular oxygen increases the lattice
period β-phase. Secondly electron microscopic researches of alloys 1 and
2 established that size and quantity of particles of Y2O3 in an alloy 1 were more
than in an alloy 2 (Fig. 1.2a, b). Thus we concluded an oxygen in the alloy
1 increasingly located into oxides, than in alloy 2. It resulted to eliminate the
6 S. Illarionova et al.
Fig. 1.2 Structure of the quenched alloys 1 (a), (c), (e), and (f) and 2 (b) and (d): (a)–(d) and (f)
TEM, dark field in reflex [602]Y2O3 (a); [420]Y2O3 (b), (c), and (d); (f) bright field; (e) OM
oxygen content of β-solid solution in the alloy 1 compared with the alloy 2. These
facts could be the reason of higher lattice period β-phase in alloy 2.
Strands on the electron diffraction, detected in an initial state, are present on
electron patterns in quenched from 730 С state of alloys 1 and 2 as well. Diffuse
strands after quenching form 660 C were not fixed. The structure of quenched
alloys from 660 C to 730 C had some difference. The quenching of alloys 1 and
2 from 730 C leads to forming of polygonal structure with small subgrains in the
1 Effect of Microalloying on the Structure and Phase Composition of Near. . . 7
β-grain body (Fig. 1.2c). The quench from 660 C gave the substructure with a high
density of dislocations (Fig. 1.2d). Thus, β-region is activated by the polygonization
process which leads to decrease dislocation density in structure compared to initial
state. At heating on 660 C low angles, a boundary doesn’t arise, and the high
density of dislocations in alloys remained as in initial state.
The perceptible movement of grain boundaries in quenched from 660 С alloys
wasn’t detected. There was another picture in the alloys quenched from 730 С.
Existing curved-convex boundaries in structure indicated their movement. How-
ever, the share of such boundaries was relatively small. The suppression of move-
ment was due to the presence of the yttrium oxide particles in the structure. The
electron microscope image of β-quenched alloy demonstrates breaking of borders
by an yttrium oxide particle (Fig. 1.2f). The particle fixed the boundary on its place.
It is confirmed also by other researchers [2, 4] who provided data that introduction
of yttrium additives to titanium alloys increases recrystallization temperature due to
Y2O3 oxide particle formation.
The calculation of the average β-grain sizes of the quenched alloys was
conducted by the secant method on optical images of the structure. It showed the
average β-grain size practically does not depend on the quenching temperature and
remains at the level of an initial state (for an alloy 1 it is 90 μm and for an alloy
2100 μm). In our opinion the phenomena are connected with the oxide particle
Y2O3 presence in the alloys which constrain the β-grain growth.
The microhardness of quenched alloys was close to the values in the initial state
2400–2450 MPa.
For definition of temperature intervals of aging of the studied alloys, the research
of the processes of decomposition of metastable β-solid solution obtained by
quenching from 730 C (β-region) were carried out with DuPont thermoanalyzer
(Fig. 1.3). The thermal analysis of the alloy 1 allows to reveal two exo- and one
endothermic effect on DSC curve (Fig. 1.3a). The first exothermic effect was fixed
in the range of temperatures 150–320 C and the second in the range of 450–600 C.
Between them a softly expressed endothermic effect was found. Unlike an alloy
1 three eхothermic effeсts were revealed on alloy 2 – curve in the temperature
intervals: 100–300 С (1st), 340–400 C (2nd), and 450–540 С (3rd). There were
two endothermic effects between eхothermic effeсts 1 and 2 and 2 and 3 (Fig. 1.3b).
It has been taken into account the data of Illarionov et al. [13], and calculation of
electron concentration of the alloys which is 4.21 el/at in the order of suggestion of
metastable β-phase transformations during heating. The first low-temperature exo-
thermic effect in the alloys was associated with the processes of preliminary
precipitation formation. It is unusual that ω-phase is the precipitation because the
electron concentration of the alloys is higher in a range of ω-phase presence in
titanium alloys (4.1–4.2 el/at (Zwicker [14])). Thus the preliminary precipitations
could be α-phase ones (Vα). Exothermic effects situated higher than 450 C of both
alloys were associated with the diffusion decay of β-solid solution with the equi-
librium α-phase formation. Exothermic effect in alloy 2 in the temperature range of
340–400 C is connected with the low-temperature α-phase (αlt) formation. This
phase that precipitated with the intermediate mechanism had some rhombic
8 S. Illarionova et al.
(a)
0.5 Dq, mW
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
(b)
0.5 Dq, mW
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
-0.5
T,°C
-1
-1.5
-2
distortion. The first endothermic effects in both alloys were associated with pro-
cesses of dissolution of formed lower temperatures’ preliminary precipitations. The
comparative analysis of DSC curves showed a suppression of formation of inter-
mediate low-temperature αlt-phase in an alloy 1 unlike the alloy 2. This fact was
resulted by increasing stability β-solid solution in alloys 1 provided by decreasing
of oxygen content. Note volume part of Y2O3 particles was higher than in alloy 2.
According to the thermogram analysis, the formation of intermediate phases in
studied alloys is possible at below 450 C temperature aging. Their presence
according to data from Antipov et al. [10] negatively affects the mechanical
properties of the near-β-alloys, first of all on plasticity and toughness. Therefore,
we recommend carrying out the aging at 475–550 C to avoid the intermediate
phase formation.
1 Effect of Microalloying on the Structure and Phase Composition of Near. . . 9
3 Conclusions
References
1. Hieda, J., Niinomi, M., Nakai, M., Cho, K., & Nagai, S. (2013). Effect of oxide particles
formed through addition of rare-earth metal on mechanical properties of biomedical β-type
titanium alloy. Materials Transactions, 54(8), 1361–1367.
2. Tomita, A., Ueda, M., & Ikeda, M. (2012). Effect of boron and yttrium slight addition on grain
refinement and mechanical properties of Ti-13Cr-1Fe-3Al alloys. In L. Zhou, H. Chang, Y. Lu,
& D. Xu (Eds.), Proceedings of the 12th world conference on titanium, (pp. 544–546). Beijing:
Science Press.
3. Song, X., Niinomi, M., Nakai, M., Tsutsumi, H., & Wang, L. (2012). Improvement in fatigue
strength while keeping low Young’s modulus of a β-type titanium alloy through yttrium oxide
dispersion. Materials Science and Engineering C, 32(3), 542–549.
4. Poorganji, B., Kazahari, A., Narushima, T., Ouchi, C., & Furuhara, T. (2010). Effect of yttrium
addition on grain growth of α, β and αþβ titanium alloys. Journal of Physics: Conference
Series, 240, Article number 012170.
5. Poorganji, B., Hotta, S., Murakami, T., Narushima, T., Iguchi, Y., & Ouchi, C. (2007). The
effect of small amounts of yttrium addition on static and under superplastic deformation grain
growth in newly developed αþβ type, Ti-4.5Al-6Nb-2Mo-2Fe alloy. Advanced Materials
Research, 15–17, 970–975.
6. Inamura, T., Fukui, Y., Hosoda, H., & Wakashima, K. (2005). Mechanical properties of Ti-Nb
biomedical shape memory alloys containing Ge or Ga. Materials Science and Engineering C,
25(3), 426–432.
7. Kim, W.-Y., & Kim, H.-S. (2008). Microstructure control and pseudoelasticity of Ti-Nb-Ge
alloy. Advanced Materials Research, 47–50(2), 1446–1449.
8. Kim, W.-Y., & Kim, H.-S. (2008). Effect of oxygen content on microstructure and mechanical
properties of Ti-Nb-Ge alloys for biomedical application. Advanced Materials Research,
47–50(2), 1450–1453.
9. Lütjering, G., & Williams, J. C. (2003). Titanium (pp. 310–315). Berlin: Springer.
10 S. Illarionova et al.
10. Antipov, A., Moiseev, V., & Moder, N. (1996). Age hardening of VT35 titanium alloy. Metal
Science and Heat Treatment, 38(11–12), 522–526.
11. Tyapkin, Y. D. (1977). Electronographia. Itogi nauki i techniki. Seriya: Metallovedenie i
termicheskaya obrabotka, 11, 152–214.
12. Liu, D., Yan, H., Yuan, X., Chung, Y., Du, Y., Xu, H., Liu, L., & Nash, P. (2011). Thermo-
dynamic modeling of the Ge-Ti system supported by key experiment. Thermochimica Acta,
521, 148–154.
13. Illarionov, A., Popov, A., & Pumpiansky, D. (2000). Study into decomposition of metastable
β-phase during isothermal treatment in the VT35 titanium-based alloy. In I. V. Gorynin & S. S.
Ushkov (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th world conference on Titanium (pp. 223–230).
St. Petersburg: CRISM “Prometey”.
14. Zwicker, U. (1974). Titan und Titanlegierungen (pp. 143–199). Berlin: Springer.
Chapter 2
Microstructural Aspects of High-Strength
Maraging Steel Fracture Toughness
Enhancement
1 Introduction
Although maraging steels have found commercial application since the early 1960s
[1, 2], they still remain as high-strength prospective structural and aerospace
materials having high fracture resistance and ultimate strength exceeding
2000 MPa. Fracture toughness of maraging steels strongly depending on their
strength level varies in the range of K1c ¼ 30–160 MPam1/2. A vast data is
available on K1c values of the named steels for a period covering 30 years
[2, 3]. But many microstructural aspects of maraging steel fracture toughness
enhancement are not clear. So the purpose of the presented study is to evaluate
the contradictory role of microstructural evolution of maraging steels caused by
heat treatment and additional alloying in their brittle fracture resistance.
S. Gladkovskiy (*)
Institute of Materials Science and Metallurgy, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg, Russia
Institute of Engineering Science of Urals Branch of RAS, Yekaterinburg, Russia
e-mail: gsv@imach.uran.ru
V. Veselova
Institute of Engineering Science of Urals Branch of RAS, Yekaterinburg, Russia
E. Ishina
Institute of Materials Science and Metallurgy, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg, Russia
2 Experimental
The role of intermetallic amount on strength and fracture resistance parameters was
evaluated for 13 compositions of Fe-11Cr-10Ni-2Mo-Ti maraging steels with
different contents of Ni3Ti and Fe2 (Ti, Mo) intermetallic forming elements such
as Mo, Ti, and Al. It is found that with growth of the total content of titan and
aluminum from 0.99 to 2.1 wt. %, yield stress increases from 1510 to 1790 MPa and
ultimate strength rises from 1570 to 1920 MPa (Fig. 2.1).
However, as presented in Fig. 2.1, it gives a sufficient decrease in fracture
toughness parameter K1c from the value 77 to 34 MPam1/2. So it may be
recommended to limit the total content the titan and aluminum (1.6 wt. %)
while alloying Fe-11Cr-10Ni-2Mo-Ti maraging steels.
In general, using pure raw materials and modern metallurgical technologies
provides very low content of impurities and nonmetallic inclusions in maraging
steels. However within one brand of Fe-18Ni-2Mo-Ti steel, the amount of nitrides,
oxides, and sulfides in various fusions can significantly vary (Table 2.1). It is shown
that the smallest K1c value corresponds to the composition of steel 2 with greatest
2 Microstructural Aspects of High-Strength Maraging Steel Fracture Toughness. . . 13
60 5 3 8
10
2
50 11 1
12
6
40
30 y=-16,815x2 + 26,072x + 57,214 13
20
10
0
0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2 2.4
(Ti+A1),%
Fig. 2.1 Dependence of K1c values of Fe-11Cr-10Ni-2Mo-Ti steels on total content of (Ti þ Al)
wt. %
total volume fraction of nonmetallic inclusions, average size, and extremely inho-
mogeneous character of distribution in matrix. The most negative role in maraging
steel fracture resistance is attributed to nitride particles which unlike round sulfides
have a square, triangular, or hexagonal form. Nitrides have poor deformation ability
and promote the creation of internal stress concentrators.
On the example of cobalt-free Fe-18Ni-2Mo-Ti steel, it is established that
increase of quenching temperature before aging from 920 to 1200 C, promoting
growth of austenitic grain, leads to decrease in characteristics of plasticity and
impact strength with a simultaneous abnormal growth of K1c values. This abnormal
effect first found in structural steels in [4] is associated with the different ratio of
pre-destruction zone size (zone of plastic deformation ahead of stress concentrator)
dzp 100 microns and the size of austenitic grain size (dg) after conventional
14 S. Gladkovskiy et al.
quenching (dg ¼ 25–40 microns) and quenching with overheating (dg ¼ 200–250
microns). Even greater decrease in plasticity and impact strength is resulted by
usage of thermal embrittlement heat treatment (transfer of a specimen from tem-
perature 1200 to 900 C for 1 h before cooling to room temperature which causes
the formation of brittle intergranular Ti (C, N) particles). The typical stonelike
specimens’ fracture surface after thermal embrittlement, examined by SEM and
optical profilometer, is shown in Figs. 2.2 and 2.3, respectively. It is necessary to
mention that the increased static fracture toughness remains high even in case of
thermal embrittlement. As resulted from comparative impact tests evaluating K1d
parameter dynamic fracture toughness, growth effect after overheating and thermal
embrittlement is not detected (Table 2.2). Repeated heating to 1200 C before water
quenching for the purpose of intergranular Ti(C,N) particle dissolution leads to
partial restoration of plastic properties and impact strength alongside with a notice-
able increase in K1c values (Table 2.2).
As one of the effective ways of maraging steel fracture resistance enhancement
introduction in their microstructure, a regulated share of retained and reverted
austenitic phase is considered [5]. Formation of 5% of retained austenite using
additional accelerated heating in austenite area allows us to increase strength
properties and K1c values at the same time (Table 2.3). The introduction of 14 %
reverted austenite phase in Fe-18Ni-4Mo-Ti steel microstructure gives a more
significant increase in fracture toughness. However, it leads to some decrease in
strength properties as compared with standard heat treatment processing. An
additional factor of high fracture toughness of γ-phase containing maraging steels
is connected with its partial transformation to martensitic α0 -phase in the plastic
zone ahead of crack by analogy with TRIP-steels [6].
2 Microstructural Aspects of High-Strength Maraging Steel Fracture Toughness. . . 15
Table 2.2 The influence of heat treatment on mechanical properties and static and dynamic
fracture toughness of cobalt-free Fe-18Ni-2Mo-Ti maraging steel
KCU К1с/K1d
Heat treatment σY (МPа) σu (МPа) δ (%) Ψ (%) (MJ/m2) (МPаm1/2)
1 1730 1830 8 27 0.4 84/65
2 1740 1845 2 6 0.12 68/29
3 1870 1810 6 17 0.25 82/58
4 1880 1920 10 56 0.6 71/69
Heat treatment:
1. Quenching 920 þ 820 С þ aging 480 С, 3 h
2. Quenching 1200 С þ aging 48 С, 3 h
3. Heating up to 1200 ! 950 C, 1 h þ aging 480 С, 3 h
4. Heating up to 1200 ! 950 C, 1 h þ quenching 1200 С þ aging 48 С, 3 h
Table 2.3 The influence of retained and reverted austenite on yield stress, ultimate strength, and
fracture toughness of Fe-18Ni-9Co-4Mo-Ti maraging steel
γ-phasea σY σu К1с
No Heat treatment (%) (МPа) (МPа) (МPа.m1/2)
1 Quenching 920 þ 820 С þ aging 480 С, 0/0 1990 2080 72.5
3h
2 Quenching 920 þ 820 С þ heating to 5/2 2080 2114 84.0
820 С, 5 min. þ aging 480 С, 3 h
3 Quenching 920 þ 820 С þ aging 600 С, 14/4 1940 2020 94.0
3 h þ heating to 820 С, 5 min þ aging
480 С, 3 h
a
Austenite phase content in specimens’ body (numerator) and on specimens’ fracture surface
(denominator)
a b
1
4 15% 20%
30%
45%
1 1
2 2
2 3 15% 3
25% 4 4
3 20%
30%
Fig. 2.4 Volume fraction of microstructural factors 1–4 attributing to maraging steel fracture
toughness enhancement at low (a) and high (b) level of maraging steel brittle fracture resistance:
1. impurities and nonmetallic inclusions; 2. grain size; 3. intergranular precipitates; 4, volume
fraction and morphology of intermetallics
4 Conclusions
It is pointed out that high level of maraging steel strength and fracture toughness
may be gained by eliminating nitrides and intergranular carbonitride particles,
adjusting the volume fraction and morphology of intermetallics, and providing
microstructure with metastable retained and reverted austenites. The accumulated
data could highlight the role of microstructural factors affected by alloying and heat
treatment in predicting fracture resistance of advanced high-strength maraging
steels.
Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to Mr. A. A. Kruglov, Mr. V. V. Yurovskihkh, and
Mrs. S. V. Kuteneva for useful discussion and experimental assistance.
References
1. Floreen, S., & Decker, R. F. (1962). Heat treatment of 18% Ni maraging steel. Transactions of
American Society for Metals, 55, 58–76.
2. Perkas, M. D., & Kardonskii, V. M. (1970). Vysokoprochnye martensitno-stareyushchie stali
(High-strength maraging steels) (р. 224). Moscow: Metallurgiya.
3. Georgiev, M. N., & Simonov Yu, N. (2013). Treschtinostoikost jelezouglerodistykh staley
(p. 419). Perm: National Research Polytechnic Institute.
2 Microstructural Aspects of High-Strength Maraging Steel Fracture Toughness. . . 17
4. Ritchie, R. O. (1978). What does the Charpy test really tell us (pp. 54–73). Metals Park: ASM.
5. Gladkovskii, S. V., Kaletina, Y. V., & Filippov, A. M. (1999). Role of metastable austenite in
the enhancement of structural strength of maraging steels. Physics of Metals and Metallogra-
phy, 87(3), 253–262.
6. Gerberich, W. W., Hemmings, P. L., Merz, M. D., & Zackay, V. F. (1968). Preliminary
toughness results on TRIP steels. Transactions of American Society for Metals, 61, 843–847.
Chapter 3
The Precipitation of Silicide Particles in Heat-
Resistant Titanium Alloys
1 Introduction
Currently, the main ideas about the structure type of the two-phase heat-resistant
titanium alloys relate only to the morphological features of α- and β-phases, and
practically there is no common opinion about the role of intermetallic particles in
the formation of service properties. However, the precipitation of silicide particles
in these alloys can significantly affect the alloy properties.
In this paper, based on our own research and literature data, we analyzed the
regularities of silicide particle precipitation in the near-α- and two-phase titanium
alloys and their role in the service and technological property formation.
Fig. 3.1 The influence of the silicon content on creep strain of the alloy IMI834 (a) and Ti6242
(b) [1]
result is somewhat contrary to [1] for the alloy Ti6242Si, which shows that
increasing the concentration of silicon till 0.08–0.12%, the amount of deformation
in the alloys decreases (Fig. 3.1b) and with a further increase of its concentration the
creep deformation increases. Both alloys contain about 4% zirconium. In [2] it was
shown that alloying of titanium alloys by zirconium reduces the solubility of silicon
in titanium. For example, if in the titanium-silicon system the maximum solubility
of silicon in the α-phase is about 0.4%, then the introduction of 3% zirconium
reduces its solubility to 0.15%, while the eutectoid temperature increases from
860 to 940–970 C. Since in the alloys without zirconium the minimum deforma-
tion is observed at 0.30–0.40% silicon, it may be expected that in the presence of
silicon, the minimum creep deformation should correspond to its maximum solu-
bility in solid solution.
The influence of zirconium can be explained in terms of its position in the
periodic table of elements: because the valence electrons in an atom of zirco-
nium are less bound to the nucleus, their socialization in the silicide formation
occurs more readily than the titanium atom. The authors of [3] noted that zirconium,
replacing titanium, causes homogeneous nucleation of the silicide zones.
Silicon is soluble in β-phase titanium to 3 wt.% at a temperature of 1330 C
[4]. The eutectic β + Ti5Si3 is formed at 1330 C and silicon content 8.5%. The
temperature decrease to 860 С is accompanied with the eutectoid transformation,
silicon content in the eutectoid being 1.1%. Silicide Ti5Si3 refers to the structural
type D88, which is a typical representative of Mn5Si3, and has a hexagonal lattice
with parameters a ¼ 0.7448 nm and c ¼ 0.5114 nm and c/a ¼ 0.6866 and significant
homogeneity region (about 4 am.%) [4, 5].
The peretectoid reaction β + Ti5Si3 ! Ti3Si proceeds in the alloys with a high
silicon content (2–5%) at a temperature of 1170 C. The silicide Ti3Si has a
tetragonal lattice with parameters a ¼ 0.713 nm, C ¼ 1.297 nm, and C/
a ¼ 1.819 [4].
In contrast to the system titanium – silicon alloys in the zirconium – silicon
systems, tetragonal silicide type Zr2Si was observed in addition to the silicide type
3 The Precipitation of Silicide Particles in Heat-Resistant Titanium Alloys 21
М5Si3. It has structural type C16 and lattice parameters a ¼ 0.661 and
C ¼ 0.529 nm [6]. It is easy to see that in analyzing the structure of zirconium
silicide with a tetragonal lattice, the tetragonal zirconium atoms lying in the same
plane are interconnected elements of trigonal symmetry.
As shown in [7–12], in alloys of Ti-Zr-Si, silicide type (Ti, Zr)5Si3 is advanta-
geously allocated, which is indicated in the literature as S1. They are similar to the
abovementioned Ti5Si3, but they have partial replacement of titanium atoms to
zirconium atoms. According to [13] the solubility of zirconium in this silicide is
9 at.%. With increasing duration of heat treatment, according to [9], this silicide is
enriched with zirconium atoms and is transformed into a silicide (Ti, Zr)6Si3, which
has a hexagonal lattice with parameters a ¼ 0.700 and C ¼ 0.360 nm and belongs to
the space group P6/mmm. On the other hand, the authors of [7] propose to describe
the silicide in the trigonal coordinates with space group P321 and parameters
similar to the above. This silicide is denoted as S2 [8].
During the study of silicide S2 with composition Ti3,4Zr2,6Si3 in the alloy
IMI685, the following orientational correlation of phases was defined:
g
f1230gs ==f110gβ ==f10 11 α
α:
< 0001>s == < 001β > == < 01 11>
Fig. 3.2 The morphology of the silicide’s particles formed during the aging process in a variety of
titanium alloys: (а) VT9, T ¼ 700 C, 10 h; (b) VT 18 U, Т ¼ 650 С, 25 h; (c) VT 9, Т ¼ 750 С,
25 h; and (d) VT 25 U, Т ¼ 750 С, 25 h