Measuring Ti-7Al slip system strengths at elevated temperature using high-energy X-ray diffraction

Full stress tensors of over four hundred individual grains in a titanium alloy specimen (Ti-7Al) are tracked during continuous uniaxial deformation through the elasto-plastic transition at 355 degrees C. The experiment is facilitated by a unique radiative heating furnace and load frame designed for in-situ high-energy X-ray diffraction measurements. Average strengths of multiple slip system families are calculated directly from the ensemble grain stress data. Results show that elevated temperature lowers the strength of basal slip systems relative to prismatic slip systems, reduces the degree of flow softening due to precipitate shearing, and decreases the first-order pyramidal slip system work-hardening rate. Published by Elsevier Ltd.