High-throughput determination of the composition-dependent mechanical and diffusion properties in β Ti-Nb-Zr-Hf refractory alloys

A combinatorial method by integrating the diffusion couple, nanoindentation, and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) techniques and the pragmatic numerical inverse method can offer a great promise of mapping the mechanical and diffusion properties in multicomponent alloys with various compositions, which is very vital for the selection of refractory alloys in biomedical and aerospace applications. In this work, 6 groups of bcc Ti-Nb-Zr-Hf diffusion couples were prepared after annealing at 1273 K for 25 h. Subsequently, the composition-mechanical property relationships in a wide composition space of Ti-Nb-Zr-Hf system were obtained by using EPMA and nanoindentation probes. Moreover, the inter diffusion coefficients of bcc Ti-Nb-Zr-Hf alloys at 1273 K were determined by a pragmatic numerical inverse method. Finally, a composition-dependent mechanical property database of Ti-rich Ti-Nb-Zr-Hf system was established, and several characteristics on the wear resistance, elastic property, elastic admissible strain, and processability during the hot service were discussed. The results reveal that Ti-Nb-Zr-Hf alloys have high hardness, good wear resistance, and high elastic admissible strain, which can be utilized as promising alloys with optimum integrated properties for biomedical applications. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Integrating various techniques can map the mechanical and diffusion properties of multicomponent alloys, which is crucial for alloy selection. This study established the composition-mechanical property relationships in the Ti-Nb-Zr-Hf system and determined the inter-diffusion coefficients of Ti-Nb-Zr-Hf alloys, providing valuable information for biomedical applications.