Microstructure development during conventional and isothermal hot forging of a near-gamma titanium aluminide

Abstract

The breakdown of the lamellar preform microstructure in the ingot metallurgy near-gamma titanium aluminide, Ti-45.5Al-2Cr-2Nb (atomic percent), was investigated. Microstructures developed during canned, conventional hot forging were compared to those from isothermal hot forging. The higher rate of deformation in conventional forging led to considerably finer and almost completely broken-down structures in the as-forged condition. Several nontraditional approaches, including the isothermal forging of a metastable microstructure (so-called “alpha forging”) and the inclusion of a short static recrystallization anneal during forging, were found to produce a more fully broken-down structure in as-isothermally forged conditions. Despite the noticeable microstructure differences after forging, conventionally and isothermally forged material responded similarly during heat treatment. In both cases, almost totally recrystallized structures of either equiaxed gamma or transformed alpha grains surrounded by fine gamma grains were produced depending on the heat-treatment temperature. Metallography on forged and heat-treated pancake macroslices was useful in delineating small differences in composition not easily detected by analytical methods.