Identification of the sources of gas-containing metallurgical defects during the smelting of titanium alloys

Abstract

A method for identifying the sources of gas-containing metallurgical defects during the industrial smelting of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy using vacuum arc remelting technology was developed. The defect database that was obtained during long-term monitoring of an industrial process and the diffusion mechanism of the modification of defect sources in smelting underlie the development of this method. The results of metallographic studies and measurements of the microhardness and the oxygen, nitrogen, and aluminum concentrations in defects were used for identification. The concentrations of light element atoms in defects were measured by the nuclear microanalysis. This method allowed identification at an 80.0% level of efficiency.