Plasticity induced transformation in a metastable β Ti-1023 alloy by controlled heat treatments

Investigations into the possibility of improving the strength-ductility relation in a metastable beta-titanium alloy (Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al) through plasticity induced transformation (PiTTi) have been carried out. Various heat treatments in the beta and/or alpha+beta condition were performed to study their influence on both the microstructure and solute partitioning, which eventually control the PiTTi effect. Stress induced martensite formation promoting such effect has been observed upon compression testing for beta and beta+(alpha+beta) microstructures. The stress-strain curves exhibiting stress induced martensite show a similar to 20% increase in strength, while still retaining a reasonable ductility level. Microstructural parameters such as grain size and solute concentration (especially V) in beta have been related to the alloy's ability to exhibit PiTTi.