Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of TC11 titanium alloy during α+β hot deformation

Thermo-mechanical processing critically influences the microstructure and mechanical properties of high-temperature titanium alloys. This study investigates the influence of deformation temperature on the microstructure and texture evolution of TC11 alloy, and correlates the temperature-dependent crystallographic orientation with resultant mechanical properties, through α+β hot compression experiments. The results indicate that the increasing deformation temperature promotes the enhancement of α texture, particularly the {11–20}α fiber texture, which leads to a significant increase of large-sized αs colonies. These temperature-dependent differences are primarily attributed to the enhancement of crystal rotation of primary α phase and the {100}β fiber texture of prior β phase, which promotes the variant selection at αp/β and β/β boundaries under high temperatures. Concurrently, the deformation texture formed at high temperature causes a distinct inhibition of prismatic slip system and results in significant deterioration of plasticity.