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Tailoring the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Ti-6Al-4 V Alloy through Duplex Heat Treatment

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Abstract

The Ti-6Al-4 V alloy emphasizes its suitability for application in the chemical, aerospace, and automotive industries due to its exceptional mechanical, physical, and chemical qualities. However, the poor tribological properties of these alloys make them unsuitable for interacting environments where wear and friction are encountered. Consequently, this study was conducted to evaluate the impact of thermal treatment settings to tailor the mechanical and tribological properties of Ti-6Al-4 V alloys using duplex heat treatment. The Ti-6Al-4 V alloy was heat treated for 10 to 30 min at a solution temperature of 850 to 913 °C, followed by 60 to 120 min of ageing at a temperature of 450 to 550 °C. The impacts of heat treatment parameters on modifications in microstructure and mechanical characteristics like hardness, tensile properties, impact strength, and wear resistance have been investigated. According to the findings, the mechanical qualities have significantly improved. The impact fracture toughness of the as-received samples is around 36% lower than the heat-treated alloy in the SAT2 (ST@850 °C/30 min-WQ-ageing@550 °C/120 min-FC) conditions. Ti-6Al-4 V alloy's heat treated on SAT 6 (ST@913 °C/10 min-WQ-ageing@550 °C/90 min-FC) condition has the maximum hardness, which is around 16.62% higher than the as-received alloy. The greatest tensile strength for an alloy is achieved under SAT5 (ST @913 °C/20 min-WQ-ageing @450 °C/120 min-FC) conditions. The specimens thermally treated at SAT4 (ST@882 °C/30 min-WQ-ageing@450 °C/90 min-FC) and SAT6 (ST@913 °C/10 min-WQ-ageing@550 °C/90 min-FC) exhibit the greatest reduction in wear rate. The improved mechanical and wear properties of the specimens were attributed to the equiaxed small grains and bimodal lamellar structure of the alloy’s microstructure, which was altered by heat treatment.

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Acknowledgments

The author (G.P.) wishes to express his heartfelt appreciation to the chief executive officer PMJF, Ln. M. Saravanan, of VRS College of Engineering and Technology for his kind assistance and for approving the current work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, V.R.S. College of Engineering and Technology, Arasur, Villupuram, Tamil Nadu, 607107, India

    G. Perumal, C. Subramaniyan, R. Ramasamy & D. Satheshkumar

  2. Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 602105, India

    N. Senthilkumar

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  1. G. Perumal
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Perumal, G., Senthilkumar, N., Subramaniyan, C. et al. Tailoring the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Ti-6Al-4 V Alloy through Duplex Heat Treatment. J. of Materi Eng and Perform (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-023-08586-x

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