Effect of high-density electropulsing on microstructure and mechanical properties of cold-rolled TA15 titanium alloy sheet

Abstract

The specimens cut from the cold-rolled TA15 titanium alloy sheet at 0°, 45° and 90° to the rolling direction are treated by high-density electropulsing (maximum current density Jmax = 4.8–5.4 × 103 A/mm2, period tp = 110 μs). The mechanical properties before and after the electropulsing treatment are examined by using uniaxial tensile test. The morphologies of the microstructure and the fracture surface of the cold-rolled and the electropulsed specimens are observed using optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experimental results indicate that the electropulsing treatment gave a significant increase in total elongation of TA15 sheet. The difference of the mechanical properties between the 0°, 45° and 90° direction specimens is almost diminished. The research results show a remarkable advantage of the electropulsing treatment for cold-rolled TA15 sheet. The mechanism of the microstructure evolution under electropulsing is discussed.