High throughput analysis of solute effects on the mechanical behavior and slip activity of beta titanium alloys

The high-throughput technique of diffusion multiples has been utilized to unveil the effect of solutes on themechanical properties (yield strength, elastic modulus, hardness), as well as on slip activity, in beta (bcc) quaternary Ti alloys. Using this methodology, libraries of [134] Ti-Al-Cr-Mo and [113] Ti-Al-V-Mo single crystals with gradient compositions were generated over distances spanning a few hundred microns and their mechanical properties were probed at room temperature by compression of micropillars milled at selected compositions. Our results evidence that Cr is a more potent strengthener than Mo in Ti-Al-Cr-Mo alloys, and that Mo is very effective in strengthening Ti-Al-V-Mo alloys. Slip activity wasmeasured by observation of slip traces. In all single crystals investigated, irrespective of orientation and composition, plastic strain was accommodated by cross slip between different {110} planes. The specific combination of {110} slip systems that act cooperatively to accommodate strain, as well as the amount of strain accommodated by each slip system, however, is dependent on orientation and on composition. Anomalous {110} slip was observed in the Ti-Al-V-Mo alloys. The incidence of this mechanismwas found to increasewith increasingMo. This study highlights the efficiency of diffusionmultiples for nontrivial materials' discovery and design. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.