Effect of rolling-assisted deformation on the formation of an ultrafine-grained structure in a two-phase titanium alloy subjected to severe plastic deformation

Abstract

The effect of rolling in the temperature range 450–650°C on the fragmentation of the primary phase in a hot-rolled VT6 alloy rod preliminarily subjected to severe plastic deformation by equal-channel angular pressing at 700°C (scheme B c, the angle between the channels is 135°, 12 passes) is studied. Rolling at 450°C without preliminary ECAP is shown not to cause α-phase fragmentation and to favor intense cold working of the alloy due to multiple slip. ECAP provides partial fragmentation of the initial structure of the α phase and changes the morphology of the retained β phase: it transforms from a continuous matrix phase into separated precipitates located between α particles. This transformation activates the fragmentation of the α phase during rolling at 550°C owing to the development of twinning and polygonization processes apart from multiple slip. Both a decrease (to 450°C) and an increase (to 625–650°C) in the rolling temperature as compared to 550°C lead to the formation of a less homogeneous and fragmented structure because of weakly developed recovery and intense cold working in the former case and because of the beginning of recrystallization and the suppression of twinning in the latter case. A relation between the structure that forms upon SPD followed by rolling and the set of its properties is found. A general scheme is proposed for the structural transformations that occur during ECAP followed by rolling at various temperatures.