Effect of deformation conditions on grain size and microstructure homogeneity of β-rich titanium alloys

The mechanical behavior and microstructure evolution of a stable β, metastable β, and β-rich titanium alloys during hot deformation in both β and α/β phase fields were studied. The effects of thermomechanical processing and alloy content on final grain size and microstructure homogeneity in the alloys are given. The processing windows in both β and α/β phase fields for the formation of homogeneous microstructures with grain sizes down to submicron values are discussed. Isothermal multiple-step forging was used to produce the billets of a β-rich alloy with homogeneous fine-grained microstructure and low ultrasonic noise.