N. B. Potluri

Bio: N. B. Potluri is an academic researcher from Auburn University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Welding & Titanium alloy. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 35 citations.

Fusion zone microstructure and fatigue crack growth behaviour in Ti-6Al-4V alloy weldments

Abstract: The fatigue crack growth resistance of α–β titanium alloys can be altered by microstructural modification. During welding, the fusion zone microstructure depends on cooling rate. In the present work, the alloy Ti-6Al-4V was welded over a range of heat inputs, using electron beam and gas tungsten arc welding. The weld microstructure varied from predominantly martensitic under rapid cooling conditions to a mixture of martensite and diffusional products on slower cooling. Post-weld heat treatment resulted in a basketweave α–β aggregate that coarsened with temperature and time. In all welded and heat treated conditions, the fusion zone exhibited a fatigue crack growth resistance superior to that of the base material, which was in part attributed to the lamellar microstructure of the fusion zone. Welding residual stresses also played a beneficial role in the as welded condition. Post-weld heat treatment eliminated the advantage resulting from the welding stresses but not that as a result of microstructure.

Correlation of fatigue properties and microstructure in investment cast Ti-6Al-4V welds

Abstract: The effect of microstructural characteristics on high-cycle fatigue properties and fatigue crack propagation behavior of welded regions of an investment cast Ti-6Al-4V were investigated. High-cycle fatigue and fatigue crack propagation tests were conducted on the welded regions, which were processed by two different welding methods: tungsten inert gas (TIG) and electron beam (EB) welding. Test data were analyzed in relation to microstructure, tensile properties, and fatigue fracture mode. The base metal was composed of an alpha plate colony structure transformed to a basket-weave structure with thin α platelets after welding and annealing. High-cycle fatigue results indicated that fatigue strength of the EB weld was lower than that of the base metal or the TIG weld because of the existence of large micropores formed during welding, although it had the highest yield strength. In the case of the fatigue crack propagation, the EB weld composed of thinner α platelets had a faster crack propagation rate than the base metal or the TIG weld. The effective microstructural feature determining the fatigue crack propagation rate was found to be the width of α platelets because it was well matched with the reversed cyclic plastic zone size calculated in the threshold Δ K regime.

Use of magnetic arc oscillation for grain refinement of gas tungsten arc welds in α–β titanium alloys

Abstract: In an effort to refine the weld metal grain structure in α–β titanium alloys, gas tungsten arc welding was carried out, during which transverse oscillations of the arc were induced through the use of an alternating external magnetic field. At optimum values of oscillation amplitude and frequency in both the alloys investigated, considerable refinement of the fusion zone grain structure was achieved. This could be attributed to factors that include enhanced fluid flow, reduced temperature gradients, and a continually changing weld pool size and shape owing to the action of the imposed magnetic field. The reduction in the prior β grain size was shown to result in a notable increase in fusion zone tensile ductility. Post-weld annealing increased ductility in all cases, but the magnetically treated material continued to show a higher elongation than that of the untreated material even after post-weld heat treatment.

Effects of β treatments on microstructures and mechanical properties of TC4-DT titanium alloy

Abstract: β Processing (deformation in β phase field followed by heat treatment in α + β phase field) and β annealing (deformation in α + β phase field followed by annealing in β phase field) were carried out to research their influence on microstructures and mechanical properties including fracture toughness of TC4-DT titanium alloy. The tensile properties at room and high temperature as well as fracture toughness were tested for all the experiment conditions. The microstructure evolution and fracture surfaces were researched by optical microscope and scanning electronic microscope (SEM) and the microstructure features were measured by means of image analysis software. Results showed that the microstructures were lamellar in β processing and acicular Widmanstatten in β annealing respectively. Spheroidization of α lamellar was found in the microstructures of β processing. SEM observation showed that the fracture mechanism changed from transcrystalline in the β processing conditions to a mixture of intercrystalline and transcrystalline at the β annealing conditions. The tensile strength and plasticity did not change much under the β processing conditions. While at β annealing conditions, the strength and plasticity varied with the temperature in a reverse trend. The biggest fracture toughness was obtained at β annealing conditions. It was found that β annealing was preferable to β processing with regard to obtaining high fracture toughness and tensile properties with a little sacrifice of plasticity which does not affect its practice use.

Influence of sharp microstructural gradients on the fatigue crack growth resistance of α+β and near-α titanium alloys

Abstract: The present study focuses on the effect of microstructural gradients on the fatigue crack growth resistance of Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-6242 titanium alloys. Sharp microstructural gradients from fine-grained bimodal to coarse-grained lamellar microstructures were obtained by heat treating only a portion of fine-grained plates in the β single-phase field using a high-frequency induction coil. For fatigue crack growth from a bimodal into a lamellar microstructure, it was found that the initial crack extension past the microstructural transition within the lamellar microstructure shows the same crack growth resistance as the reference bimodal microstructure. Similarly, for fatigue crack growth from a lamellar into a bimodal microstructure, the initial crack extension past the microstructural transition within the bimodal microstructure shows same crack growth resistance as the reference lamellar microstructure. Based on detailed crack front profile investigations using optical light and scanning electron microscopy as well as heat tinting procedures, these findings can be mainly attributed to the effect of the crack front geometry.