Improvement In Yield Strength Research Articles

Integrating Experimental and Computational Analyses for Mechanical Characterization of Titanium Carbide/Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites

This study investigates the mechanical properties of titanium carbide/aluminum metal matrix composites (AMMCs) using both experimental and computational methods. Through accumulative roll bonding (ARB) and cryorolling (CR) processes, AA1050 alloy surfaces were reinforced with TiCp particles to create the Al–TiCp composite. The experimental analysis shows significant improvements in tensile strength, yield strength, elastic modulus, and hardness. The finite element analysis (FEA) simulations, particularly the microstructural modeling of RVE−1 (the experimental case model), align closely with the experimental results observed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This validation underscores the accuracy of the computational models in predicting the mechanical behavior under identical experimental conditions. The simulated elastic modulus deviates by 5.49% from the experimental value, while the tensile strength shows a 6.81% difference. Additionally, the simulated yield strength indicates a 2.85% deviation. The simulation data provide insights into the microstructural behavior, stress distribution, and particle–matrix interactions, facilitating the design optimization for enhanced performance. The study also explores the influence of particle shapes and sizes through Representative Volume Element (RVE) models, highlighting nuanced effects on stress–strain behavior. The microstructural evolution is examined via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), revealing insights regarding grain refinement. These findings demonstrate the potential of Al–TiCp composites for lightweight applications.

Impact of infill density on morphology and mechanical properties of 3D printed ABS/CF-ABS composites using design of experiments

Metal Extrusion (MEX) is a leading 3D printing technology for polymers, enabling intricate designs and personalized products in various applications. The current study evaluate how infill density affects the tensile, flexural, compressive, Izod impact and fracture behaviour of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and Carbon Fiber Reinforced-Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (CF-ABS) specimens manufactured using the MEX method. Different infill densities of 20, 40, 60 and 80 % are used in the production of honeycomb infill pattern samples for investigating the mechanical as well as fracture behaviour of MEX ABS/CF-ABS components. The experimental runs of fabricated composites were tested using a digital Izod impact tester and servo-controlled hydraulic universal testing machine, following ASTM standard procedures. The experimental findings show that CF-ABS specimens with an 80 % infill density and honeycomb fill pattern showed significant improvements in tensile strength, modulus, yield strength and elongation. The flexural strength (64.74 %), flexural modulus (209.15 %), compressive strength (125.21 %), compressive modulus (108.34 %) and impact strength (38.91 %) of these specimens are comparable to those of 3D printed ABS specimens and other infill densities. The research shows that precise management of processing variables can greatly improve the mechanical properties of 3D-printed ABS samples, providing valuable insights for a range of applications.

Tuning heterogeneous microstructure and improving mechanical properties of twin-roll strip cast low carbon steels by on-line heat treatments

Coarse austenite grains are unavoidable in the low carbon steels processed by twin-roll strip casting. Unfortunately, the polygonal ferrite (PF) grains cannot be refined by conventional on-line cooling process, resulting in low strength. In this work, an on-line heat treatment including reaustenitizing and subsequent controlled cooling was performed in laboratory to form heterogeneous microstructures composed of PF and acicular ferrite (AF). It has been founded that increased prior austenite grain size and the cooling rate led to more AF laths, which inhibited the growth of PF grains. When the prior austenite grain size is less than 60 μm, the formation of AF is suppressed. The tensile tests indicate that the heterostructured steels exhibited higher yield strength than the samples without AF. The improvement of yield strength can be attributed to the grain boundary strengthening, dislocation strengthening and back stress strengthening. The higher AF volume fraction leads to higher dislocation density in PF grains, and more AF/PF interfaces may increase the amount of accumulated geometrically necessary dislocations. Therefore, the contributions of dislocation and back stress strengthening increase with the increase of AF volume fractions. High dislocation density and the generation of back stress contribute a high strain hardening rate to delay the necking and sustain good plasticity. Moreover, the heterostructured steels exhibit the two-stage work hardening behavior during tensile test, which indicates that plastic deformation starts in PF grains while the AF laths remain in elastic state, and then plastic deformation occurs in both strain hardened PF grains and AF laths.

Effect of Cr and Ni on mechanical response and microstructural evolution of nanocrystalline ferrite: A molecular dynamics study

Microalloying plays a critical role in improving the mechanical properties of steel. To offer a better theoretical guide for experimental research at the atomic level, this paper investigated the synergistic mechanism of adding trace amounts of alloy Cr and Ni and the microstructure evolution of nanocrystalline ferrite during the mechanical response process. First-principles calculations were implemented to investigate electronic properties. Hybrid molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations were employed to explore the deformation mechanism under uniaxial tension and scratching. Specifically, comprehensive differences between doped and pure nanocrystalline ferrites were explored regarding local stress-strain state, dislocation evolution, twin expansion, and grain boundary activity. The results show that Cr- and Ni-doped nanocrystalline ferrite has higher strength and better wear resistance. The potential mechanism is that the addition of Cr and Ni enhances the atomic bonding strength with Fe atoms, hinders the movement of dislocations caused by lattice distortion, and suppresses grain boundary slip and migration, thereby improving the resistance to plastic deformation and grain boundary stability. Theoretical calculations based on microstructure indicate that compared to solid solution strengthening, Ni-induced grain boundary strengthening plays a dominant role in improving yield strength. Under large deformation, the trend of mechanical response is reversed. The suppression of dislocation motion by Cr reduces the dislocation density and dislocation entanglement, resulting in flow stress and local scratch force being smaller than that of pure samples. However, the formation of more nanoscale twins and twin-dislocation interactions enhances strain-hardening ability during tensile. Finer nanostructured subgrains are formed under scratching. These results provide valuable insights into the understanding of the strengthening mechanism and plastic deformation mechanism of Cr-Ni system low alloy steel under dynamic loading.

Influence of thermomechanical treatment on mechanical properties of CLAM steel

To enhance the creep resistance of CLAM steel and thus elevate its maximum service temperature, in our prior research, a superior thermomechanical treatment process was developed based on thermal simulation experiments conducted. This study employed forging to achieve the desired thermal deformation in accordance with the superior thermomechanical treatment process, followed by mechanical property testing post tempering. Comparative analysis with normalized and tempered CLAM steel (N + T CLAM steel) revealed notable improvements in yield strengths ranging from 31–55 %, ultimate tensile strengths from 30–46 %, and a reduction in total elongations by 12–21 % at both room temperature and elevated temperatures. Additionally, the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) increased from -65 °C to -27 °C. Creep behavior of N + T CLAM steel exhibited similarities to other RAFM steels, with stress exponents measured at 500 °C, 550 °C, 600 °C, and 650 °C recorded as 16.5, 15.0, 10.2, and 7.8, respectively. The creep activation energy was determined to be 556 kJ/mol, closely aligning with results from Eurofer 97 steel and F82H steel, and approximately twice the self-diffusion activation energy of iron. The Larson-Miller parameter method was employed to forecast stress-rupture limits under various conditions, with a predicted result of 120 MPa under typical design life conditions (550 °C / 100,000 h) for the cladding module, comparable to Eurofer 97 steel and F82H steel. TMT CLAM steel exhibited a stress exponent of 16.7 at 550 °C, with a creep activation energy of 578 kJ/mol. Under typical design life conditions (550 °C / 100,000 h) for the cladding module, the predicted stress-rupture limit increased to 176 MPa, representing a 47 % improvement over N+T CLAM steel. Moreover, under the same conditions (550 °C / 230 MPa), the rupture time of TMT CLAM steel was 54 times longer than that of N+T CLAM steel.

Mechanical and thermal properties of in situ AlN/Al-12Si composite fabricated by laser powder bed fusion

This work reports on the synthesis, mechanical, and thermal properties of in situ AlN/Al-12Si composite through laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) by blending Al-12Si powder with 5 vol% nano-sized BN particles. Incorporating nano-BN particles results in (i) formation of thermally stable AlN phase, preventing Si diffusion and breakdown of cellular structure, (ii) improvement of compressive yield strength (CYS), and (iii) reduction in coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) and thermal conductivity. In addition, compared to Al-12Si alloy, the composite exhibits grain refinement from 38.8 to 1.2 μm in size, and the alteration of columnar grains (Al-12Si) to equiaxed grains (AlN/Al-12Si). At annealing temperatures above 573 K, the CYS of the unadulterated Al-12Si alloy had a ∼ 2.1 times greater reduction (from 285 to 200 MPa) compared to that of the composites (from 301 to 260 MPa). The formation of the AlN phase mitigates the significant reduction in CYS. The CTE of Al-12Si and AlN/Al-12Si are 27.3 × 10−6 K−1 and 24.3 × 10−6 K−1 respectively. There is good agreement between the measured CYS results and the calculated strengthening mechanisms. This work offers both theoretical insights and experimental data to support the use of LPBF AlN/Al-12Si composite in low- and moderate-temperature applications.

Advanced cavitation erosion-corrosion resistance of nickel-aluminum bronze prepared by directed energy deposition

The mechanical properties and cavitation erosion-corrosion behavior of directed energy deposition (DED) and as-cast nickel-aluminum bronze (NAB) alloys in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution were investigated. The DED-produced NAB alloy showed a finer microstructure, and the content of κ phases significantly decreased, improving yield strength (increased by 27.76%) and elongation (increased by 54.89%) of NAB alloy. The DED-produced NAB exhibited a more uniform microstructure, fewer high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs), and twin boundaries (∑3), resulting in a weakened synergistic effect between corrosion and mechanical attack. Compared with the as-cast counterpart, the mass loss rate of DED-produced NAB decreased by 74.77%.

Tensile properties and strengthening behavior of CoCrFeNiW high entropy alloys with heterogeneous structures

Co30Cr30(FeNi)40−xWx (x=0−8 at.%, simplified as HW0−HW8, respectively) high entropy alloys (HEAs) were fabricated by vacuum arc-melting. The microstructure and tensile properties of as-cast and as-annealed alloys were investigated. The results show that HW2 and HW4 have a single FCC phase. The fine and granular μ phase is dispersed in FCC matrix and the area fraction increases with the increase of W content and annealing temperature. The soft FCC matrix and hard μ phase constitute the heterostructure with strain incompatibility. With the increase of W content from 0 to 8 at.%, the yield strength and tensile strength increase from 278 and 629 MPa to 530 and 839 MPa, respectively. The strain maintains 33%. The as-annealed HW8 exhibits superior yield strength (810 MPa) and tensile strength (1087 MPa). The yield strength improvement is attributed to solid-solution, precipitate, and back stress strengthening. Back stress strengthening plays a dominant role in improving tensile strength and plasticity by inducing high hardening behavior in heterogeneous structures.

Investigation of the tensile strength of the CMT and PCMT joints of AA8011 aluminum alloy

The advanced variant of gas metal arc welding (GMAW) known as cold metal transfer (CMT) developed by Fronius in Austria is used to overcome heat-input- and fusion-related issues such as porosity and cracking in welding of AA8011-H18 alloy sheets. AA8011-H18 alloy sheets 3 mm thick were welded using normal CMT-GMAW and pulsed CMT (PCMT)-GMAW processes. The microstructure of the weld metal and heat-affected zone was analyzed using an optical microscope. The tensile properties and hardness of joints were evaluated and compared. The results revealed that the PCMT-GMAW joints showed 26.45, 48.97 and 40.42% improvements in tensile strength, yield strength and elongation, respectively, compared with CMT-GMAW joints. The superior tensile performance of PCMT-GMAW joints compared with that of CMT-GMAW joints is due to the current pulsing effects along with the wire retraction mechanism, which aids in reducing the heat input and controlled droplet transfer.

The extrusion ratios modification of Mg-2Gd-xMn alloys to exploration of the strengthening mechanisms

Enhancing the strength of magnesium alloys, a lightweight material, is crucial in promoting its widespread adoption and utilization. In this comprehensive study, the effects of various extrusion ratios and manganese contents on the properties of Mg-2Gd-xMn alloys have been rigorously examined using state-of-the-art techniques such as Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Observations reveal that the microstructure of as-extruded Mg-2Gd-xMn alloys typically exhibit a bimodal structure, characterized by a mix of equiaxed recrystallized grains and elongated unrecrystallized grains. The reduction of the extrusion ratio reduces the deformation energy that promotes the nucleation and growth of recrystallization, which effectively reduces the alloy recrystallization grain size and increases the volume fraction of the unrecrystallized microstructure. The uncrystallized microstructure have a significant fiber texture that poses challenges in activating basal slip and is accompanied by a more pronounced work-hardening trend. Additionally, the investigation reveals the vital role of α-Mn particles in obstructing dislocation movement and refining the grains, thereby contributing to enhanced alloys strengthening. Therefore, by harnessing the synergistic strengthening effects of the aforementioned mechanisms, the Mg-2Gd-2Mn alloy demonstrates significantly improved yield strength and tensile strength, reaching an impressive 240 MPa and 281 MPa, respectively.

Influence of ultrasonic surface rolling on tensile properties of high carbon low alloy quenching-partitioning-tempering steel

The effect of ultrasonic surface rolling process on tensile properties of a novel Fe-0.6C-2.0Al-1.5Mn-0.04 Nb quenching-partitioning-tempering steel was investigated. Optical microscope, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy were brought out to characterize the microstructure. Compared with quenching-partitioning-tempering steel, the strength and plasticity of the ultrasonic rolling specimen were increased simultaneously, reaching 1329.1 MPa and 23.6%, respectively, and the product of strength and elongation reached the range of the third generation Advanced High Strength Steels. The plasticity improvement mechanism of the USRP1specimen is mainly stemmed from two aspects: First, obvious strain gradients during the tensile process was found in the USRP specimens, which not only avoids the strain localization, but also generates a biaxial stress state. The geometrically necessary dislocations induced by the strain gradient and the dislocations induced by the biaxial stress state promoted extra work hardening, thus ensuring high plasticity of the material. Second, there was a moderate content and small size of twinned martensite in the USRP1 specimen. The improvement in yield strength of the USRP specimens primarily results from grain refinement strengthening, dislocation strengthening, phase transformation strengthening, and back stress strengthening. Among them, phase transformation strengthening contributed the most.

Microstructure and Tensile Properties of HPDC Mg–RE Alloys with Varying Y Additions

AbstractHigh-pressure die-casting Mg–2.6RE–xY (EW) alloys with Y contents between 0 and 3% (in wt%) were investigated for their microstructure and tensile properties. In the Y-containing alloy, the intermetallic phases at the grain boundaries consisted of skeletal Mg12RE phase, bulk Mg24Y5 phase and irregular Mg3Y phase, while {011} twins were observed in the Mg12RE phase. The yield strength was improved by Y addition at both room temperature and high temperatures. Compared with Y-free alloy, the yield strength of 3% Y alloy increased from 143.1 to 174.8 MPa and improved by 22.2% at room temperature, while it was increased from 72.2 to 104.6 MPa and enhanced by 44.9% at 300 °C. The area fraction of intermetallic phase increased dramatically from 14.5 to 18.4% with 3% Y addition. Second phase strengthening was the major contributor to the yield strength increase at ambient temperature. The increment of the area fraction of the high-thermally stable Mg–RE intermetallic phases with Y addition contributed to the consequent improvement in yield strength at high temperatures. At ambient temperature, the mechanism for the fracture of EW alloys was a ductile and quasi-cleavage fracture blend.

α″ martensite engineering: A strategy to achieve high yield strength and low yield ratio synergy for dual-phase titanium alloy

To breakthrough the long-term contradictory issue of high yield strength and low yield ratio for titanium alloys, and achieving the superior balance between these two key mechanical parameters. We have proposed an efficient “Quenching → Cold deformation → Recrystallization annealing” (QCR) strategy, which realizes the high yield strength (900 MPa) and low yield ratio (0.74) synergy for a model Ti6Al4V5.5Cu (wt.%) alloy which characterized with the unique multi-scale heterogeneous structure. The developed QCR processing route is based on the subtle utilization of orthorhombic α″ martensite, which plays the various roles in each processing step. By elaborately manipulating the recrystallization degree, chemical stability, effective domain of β phase and αt nano-precipitates in β phase, the stress-induced α″ martensite transformation (SIM α″) can be controlled effectively and even postponed until after yielding induced by dislocation mechanisms, thus leading to substantially improvement of yield strength. After yielding, abundant proliferation of SIM α″which assisted by multi-scale α phases and their interactions are the fundamental reasons for achieving higher work-hardening ability, tensile strength (1215 MPa) and uniform elongation (11%). Thus, the core strategy to realize the excellent combination of high yield strength and low yield ratio is manipulating the activation sequence of the plastic deformation carriers.

The influence of CMT-MAG and MAG welding-processes on microstructure and mechanical behaviour of C-Mn E410 structural-steels

PurposeAn experimental investigation for developing structure-property correlations of hot-rolled E410 steels with different carbon contents, i.e. 0.04wt.%C and 0.17wt.%C metal active gas (MAG) and cold metal transfer (CMT)-MAG weldments was undertaken.Design/methodology/approachMechanical properties and microstructure of MAG and CMT-MAG weldments of two E410 steels with varying content of carbon were compared using standardized mechanical testing procedures, and conventional microscopy.Findings0.04wt.%C steel had strained ferritic and cementite sub-structures in blocky shape and large dislocation density, while 0.17wt.%C steel consisted of pearlite and polygonal ductile ferrite. This effected yield strength (YS), and microhardness being larger in 0.04wt.%C steel, %elongation being larger in 0.17wt.%C steel. Weldments of both E410 steels obtained with CMT-MAG performed better than MAG in terms of YS, ultimate tensile strength (UTS), %elongation, and toughness. It was due to low heat input of CMT-MAG that resulted in refinement of weld metal, and subzones of heat affected zone (HAZ).Originality/valueA substantial improvement in YS (∼9%), %elongation (∼38%), and room temperature impact toughness (∼29%) of 0.04wt.%C E410 steel is achieved with CMT-MAG over MAG welding. Almost ∼10, ∼12.5, and ∼16% increment in YS, %elongation, and toughness of 0.17wt.%C E410 steel is observed with CMT-MAG. Relatively low heat input of CMT-MAG leads to development of fine Widmanstätten and acicular ferrite in weld metal and microstructural refinement in HAZ subzones with nearly similar characteristics of base metal.

Enhanced Yield Strength and Total Elongation of an Ultrahigh Strength Hot‐Stamped Steel via Tempering Treatment

A 2460 MPa ultimate tensile strength (UTS) has been achieved in this experimental steel, which was processed by a conventional hot stamping process with water quenching to room temperature. Additionally, comparing the microstructure evolution and strengthening mechanism before and after tempering, the microstructure has changed from fresh martensite transformed into tempered martensite with acicular carbides, and the fracture mode has also changed from brittle fracture transformed into ductile fracture mainly. Meanwhile, the main strengthening mechanism has changed from dislocation strengthening to precipitation and dislocation strengthening. Overall, the tempering process reduces dislocation density and produces acicular carbides, which decrease UTS. However, the tempering process reduces the quenching residual stress and changes the morphology of twin martensite, resulting in an increase in ductility. Meanwhile, it enhances the effect of carbide pinning dislocations, significantly enhances precipitation strengthening, and improves yield strength.

Physio-mechanical and tribological characterisation of sintered aluminium 7068 modified with NiTiFeAlCu high-entropy-alloy for engineering applications

ABSTRACT Metal particles are gaining attention as reinforcement in metal matrix composites owing to their ductility as compared with ceramic particles, which are inherently brittle. High-entropy-alloy (HEA) particles belong to this category based on their high strength, ductility, and thermal stability. Aluminium-7068 is a new aerospace alloy in the 7000 series that possesses higher strength than aluminium-7075, yet very few studies have considered reinforcement with high-entropy alloy particles. For strength improvement, NiTiFeAlCu (HEA) powder was introduced into the aluminium-7068 matrix at 0, 4, 8, and 12 wt. % at 500 °C via vacuum sintering. The microstructure depicted dispersed particles in the matrix with a linear reduction in porosity as the HEA dosage increased. Consequently, there was a linear increase in density and relative density. 4–12 wt.% HEA engendered linear improvements in yield and ultimate tensile strength, elastic modulus, and hardness; meanwhile, elongation was a progressive decline. The outcome of this study shows that HEA particles in AA-7068 resulted in an improvement of the tensile and hardness properties. The particle addition was observed to reduce the composite’s friction coefficient and wear rate. This report revealed that the performance of AA-7068 can be improved up to 12 wt. % NiTiFeAlCu HEA addition.

The Effect of Multi-Step Tempering and Partition Heat Treatment on 25Cr2Ni3MoV Steel's Cryogenic Strength Properties.

In this study, the refinement of two microstructures was controlled in medium carbon 25Cr2Ni3MoV steel via multi-step tempering and partition (MTP) to achieve high cryogenic strength-ductility combinations. Microstructure evolution, the distribution of stress concentration, and microcrack formation and propagation during cryogenic Charpy impact testing were investigated. Compared with their performance in the quenching and tempering states (QT), the MTP steels showed a significant improvement in yield strength (1300 MPa), total elongation (25%), and impact toughness (>25 J) at liquid nitrogen temperature (LNT). The strengthening contributions mainly originated from the high dislocation density and refinement cementite (size: 70 nm) in the martensite lath (width: 1.5 μm) introduced by refined reversed austenite and its latter decomposition. The instrumented Charpy impact results indicated that cracks nucleated in the primary austenite grain (PAG) boundary for two steels due to the strain concentration band preferring to appear near PAGs, while cracks in the QT and MTP samples propagated along the PAGs and high-angle grain boundary (HAGB), respectively. The crystallized plasticity finite element simulation revealed that the PAG boundary with cementite precipitates of large size (>200 nm) was less able to dissipate crack propagation energy than the HAGBs by continuously forming a high strain concentration area, thus leading to the low-impact toughness of the QT steel.

Supreme tensile properties in precipitation-hardened 316L stainless steel fabricated through powder cold-consolidation and annealing

One of the key goals of processing 316L stainless steel by powder metallurgy (PM) techniques is to achieve industrial-viable tensile properties without structural defects like poor densification, undesired phase transitions, and oxidation during high-temperature sintering. To address this, this study adopts high-pressure torsion to fabricate a fully dense structure at ambient temperature through cold consolidation. The samples fabricated by the present PM-based technique exhibits considerably enhanced tensile properties compared to counterparts processed by conventional PM techniques, with a remarkable yield strength of 1 GPa and total elongation of 46%. Additionally, the segregation of certain elements during subsequent annealing results in a unique microstructure with nano-scale sigma precipitates which induces dislocation pile-up, leading to improved yield strength and retarded dislocation motion. The results indicate that the present PM-based route is an applicable technique to achieve the strength-ductility synergy in 316L stainless steel.

A heterostructured bainitic steel produced by two-step austempering and low-temperature ausforming

Heterogeneous microstructure has been become a very effective scheme for evading the yield strength (YS)-ductility trade-off in metallic materials, however, strategies of fabricating heterostructured bainite (HeteroB) in carbide-free bainite have not yet been explored. Herein, we successfully produced a HeteroB composed of submicron-scale primary bainite and nano-scale low-temperature bainite by combining two-step austempering (AT) and low-temperature ausforming (AF). Compared with the homogeneous bainite (HomoB) in the conventional AT sample, the HeteroB in the AT&AF sample exhibits a wider lath size distribution due to its bimodal size variation. The difference in average nano-hardness between the primary bainite and nanobainite reaches 0.78 GPa. The HeteroB renders an impressive enhancement in strength (∼310 MPa of YS) and ductility (∼26.1 % of uniform elongation) in the AT&AF sample compared to the conventional AT sample. This synergistic improvement in YS and ductility relies on the sustained transformation-induced plasticity and heterogeneous deformation-induced strengthening effect.

High-strength titanium alloy with hierarchical-microstructure design via in-situ refinement-splitting strategy in additive manufacturing

Microstructure design of high-strength materials based on single-principal-microstructure advantage can hardly meet the increasingly strict service requirements of modern aviation and aerospace industries. Compared with conventional forming methods, additive manufacturing (AM) technology introduces more regulatory variables, making it possible to gain multiple microstructure advantages simultaneously for critical components. This study introduces a universal process strategy in laser-powder bed fusion (L-PBF) to achieve hierarchical-microstructure optimization for titanium alloys. Specifically, a higher energy density can refine (R) martensite lath, and an appropriate scanning strategy can split (S) both coarse prior-β grains and α’-colony. For L-PBF-fabricated Ti-6Al-4 V (Ti64) alloy, the proposed refinement-splitting (R & S) optimization strategy improved yield strength (up to ∼1.3 gigapascals) by 30% and the total elongation increase by about 1.9 times compared to the alloy samples with a conventional rich α’-colony microstructure. The split prior-β grains also help with the complex service environment by reducing the anisotropy-induced deterioration of mechanical properties. The R&S approach is, in principle, applicable also to other titanium alloys beyond Ti64.