Stress corrosion characteristics of electron beam welded titanium alloys joints in NaCl solution

Abstract

The Ti6321 titanium alloy has stress corrosion sensitivity in 3.5% NaCl solution, and the sample with cracks will fracture in a short time. The aim of this paper is to reveal the key factors affecting the stress corrosion resistance and clarify the stress corrosion mechanism of different regions of the joint by studying the crack propagation and stress corrosion critical stress intensity factor of the different regions of titanium alloy welded joint. Stress corrosion cracking, fracture and crack propagation path of electron beam welded titanium alloy joint were analyzed, characteristics of microstructure, texture and electrochemical were studied. The results indicated that the stress corrosion intensity factor KISCC of the weld metal is >76.50 MPa • m 1 / 2 , and the maximum KISCC value of heat affected zone is 51.62 MPa • m 1/2 , so KISCC of weld metal is better than heat affected zone. The crack growth rate of weld metal is slightly higher than that of heat affected zone. The fractured surface of weld metal has no obvious stress corrosion characterization, while heat affected zone has. The propagation path of weld metal is more zigzag than that of heat affected zone. The results reveal that microstructure, texture and electrochemical properties are the main reasons for stress corrosion. • The stress corrosion of titanium alloy electron beam welded joint in different regions has been studied. • The stress corrosion resistance of weld metal is significantly higher than heat affected zone, which is related to composition, microstructure and microtexture. • The stress corrosion crack mechanism of titanium alloy welded joint is the combined action of crack propagation and potential corrosion under stress.