The microstructures and creep properties at 760 °C and 276 MPa of three powder metallurgy TiAl alloys (Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb, Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb+0.5W, and Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb+1W (atomic percent)) are presented. The results indicate that the addition of W to the base composition, the use of a solution heat treatment combined with controlled cooling (to generate a fully lamellar microstructure), and the use of an aging heat treatment (to generate precipitate particles at the lamellar interfaces) improve creep properties dramatically. The solution heat treated and aged Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb+1W alloy has a time to 0.5% strain of 8.3 hours, a time to 1% strain of 46.4 hours, and a creep life of 412 hours with a rupture ductility of 16.9%.

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Mechanical fatigue and dielectric relaxation of carbon black/polymer composites J. Appl. Phys.

The microstructures and tensile properties of a fully lamellar Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb, and two tungsten-modified versions, Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb-0.5W and Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb-1.0W (atomic percent) are investigated. Gas atomized powders are consolidated by hot isostatic pressing followed by solution treatment and aging. The microstructures are characterized by optical, scanning electron, and transmission electron microscopy and mechanical properties are characterized by room temperature tensile testing. The solution heat treatment, combined with controlled cooling, generates relatively fine, fully lamellar grains. Tungsten reduces the propensity for martensitic gamma formation during cooling, and slows down lamellar coarsening as well as the formation of equiaxed gamma phase during aging. The aging treatment stabilizes the microstructure and, in the tungsten-modified alloys, causes beta phase precipitation at lamellar interfaces and grain boundaries. Both aging and tungsten additions increase the alloy strength and reduce ductility. The fracture morphologies of the alloys are similar and exhibit mixed-mode fracture consisting of inter- and intra-granular cracking, as well as inter-lamellar cracking.

The microstructures and mechanical properties of three powder metallurgy Ti-48Al-2Cr- 2Nb-xW alloys (where x=0, 0.5, and 1 atomic percent (at.%)) are presented. The results indicate that a solution heat treatment combined with controlled cooling generate a fully lamellar (FL) microstructure without the formation of detrimental Widmanstätten or massively transformed γ phases. Aging causes coarsening of the FL microstructure in the alloys containing 0%W and 0.5%W, while almost no coarsening occurs in the 1%W sample. The addition of W to the base composition results in the formation of precipitates at the lamellar interfaces and grain boundaries during aging which helps stabilize the FL microstructure. The amount of W and the aging time affect the room temperature hardness values and tensile properties.

Pre-alloyed powders with a nominal composition of Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb+1W were consolidated by hot isostatic pressing (HIP). After the HIP process, a step cooled heat treatment (SCHT) with a carefully controlled cooling rate was applied to homogenize the HIP’ed microstructure and produce a fully lamellar microstructure. Following the SCHT, various isothermal aging at 950 °C and step aging processes form interfacial precipitates at the lamellar interfaces. The morphology, size, and distribution of the precipitates are dependent on the aging condition. Creep tests were carried out in air at 760 °C and 276 MPa to investigate the effect of interfacial precipitates. Primary creep resistance and creep life of the 8 and 144 hr aged conditions are improved substantially compared to the unaged condition due to the existence of the interfacial precipitates. However, the step aging process improves the creep resistance only slightly, probably because of the size and distribution differences of the interfacial precipitates compared to the 144 hr aged condition. Microstructure control is important since it has a substantial influence on creep behavior, especially primary creep resistance.

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