Effect of deformation on ultrasonic testing results of TA15 titanium alloy ring forgings

To alleviate the local ultrasonic attenuation defects during ultrasonic inspection of TA15 titanium alloy ring forgings, the uniformity of microstructures from different positions in ring forgings with different deformation amounts was examined. These were observed by optical microscopes with low and high magnification. Comparative analyses were conducted between the original and the highly deformed ring forgings using immersion ultrasonic testing, microstructural observations, mechanical property evaluations and finite element simulation of forging processes. The results indicated that increasing the deformation amount could effectively reduce the ultrasonic attenuation defects in the ring forgings without affecting their mechanical properties. The main cause of the abnormal ultrasonic attenuation defects was identified as the directional arrangement of the primary α phase during the forging process.