Preparation of Titanium Alloy Rods by Powder Compact Extrusion

Abstract

Titanium alloys have a number of features which make them attractive for use in aerospace, marine and chemical engineering, biological engineering, etc., due to their advantage of low density, high strength, and excellent corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. In this paper, Ti-6Al-4V (Ti-64) rods were prepared by vacuum sintering titanium alloy powder compacts at 1300°C for 2h and then hot extruding the as-sintered Ti-64 alloy billets at 1150°C in air. The microstructure and property changes, after vacuum sintering and hot extrusion, were investigated. The results showed clear evidence of porosity and a coarse lamellar microstructure in as-sintered Ti-64 alloy billets. Tensile testing of as-sintered material gave yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and ductility values of 850MPa, 985MPa and 2%, respectively. After extrusion at 1150°C, no obvious pores could be seen in the microstructure of as-extruded Ti-64 alloy rods and the lamellar microstructure was significantly refined, and the mechanical properties were significantly improved. The yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and the ductility reached 1130MPa, 1245MPa and 4.5%, respectively. Compared with the mechanical properties of Ti-64 alloy rod prepared by extruding a hot pressed Ti-64 alloy billet (1300°C for 5min, argon protective atmosphere) in air, the ductility of the Ti-64 alloy rod studied here is lower. The fracture characteristics of as-sintered and as-extruded Ti-64 alloy rods have also been investigated.