High Cycle Fatigue and Very High Cycle Fatigue of Orthorhombic (O + α<sub>2</sub>)-Type Ti–27.5Nb–13Al Alloy with and without B and Fatigue Striation Analysis in Comparison with (α + β)-Type Titanium Alloys

Abstract

The lightweight and high strength Ti–27.5Al–13Nb intermetallic alloy, based on the orthorhombic Ti2AlNb phase (O phase) and the α2 phase incorporated, was previously developed by the authors. This alloy would seem to have good potential for applications where fatigue behavior is a main concern, such as automobile and aircraft engine parts. The minor addition of boron (B) is known to refine the ingot grain size and thus to improve the subsequent mechanical properties. For these reasons, the high cycle fatigue (HCF) and very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) properties of B-free and 0.1 pct B-modified Ti–27.5Al–13Nb alloy were examined in the present study. HCF tests were performed at room temperature (RT) in tension-tension mode at an R of 0.1 and a frequency of 10 Hz, while VHCF tests were performed using an ultrasonic resonance fatigue test machine at an R of −1 and a frequency of 20 kHz. In both fatigue tests, hourglass-shaped specimens were used. With the addition of 0.1 pct B, the prior B2 grain size of an ingot was reduced drastically, from 600∼1000 µm for the B-free alloy to 100∼250 µm. The 0.1 pct B-modified Ti–27.5Al–13Nb alloy with a duplex microstructure consisting of a globular α2 phase and a lamellar microstructure exhibited superior elongation of 6.1 pct at RT. The HCF curve for this alloy with a duplex microstructure was almost the same as that for a Ti–6Al–4V alloy with a fully lamellar microstructure. Although prolonged fatigue life was previously reported in the HCF region in the 0.1 pct B-modified Ti–6Al–4V alloy, the addition of 0.1 pct B to the Ti–27.5Al–13Nb, Ti–6Al–4V and Ti–4Al–2.5V–1.5Fe alloys had no such effect in the VHCF region. VHCF strength for a lamellar microstructure was ranked in the order of Ti–4Al–2.5V–1.5Fe, Ti–6Al–4V and Ti–27.5Al–13Nb from the highest. Well-defined striations were observed at the propagation stage area of the fatigue fracture surface of B-free Ti–27.5Al–13Nb, and the measured striation spacing kept a constant of 0.29 µm through the propagation distance of 300 µm. The calculation based on this observation showed that the fatigue life spent in the propagation stage was very short and thus almost 100 pct of HCF life was thought to be spent in the fatigue initiation stage. For the B-free Ti–6Al–4V alloy with an equiaxed microstructure, the striation spacing increased from 0.06 µm to 4 µm as the fatigue crack propagated for a distance of 1,000 µm. Calculation based on the striation spacing revealed that, similar to the case with the Ti–27.5Al–13Nb alloy, the fatigue initiation stage consumed almost 100 pct of fatigue life regardless of the B addition.