Effect of Fe and Cr on ω Phase Formation in Metastable β-Ti Alloy

This study investigated the effects of Fe and Cr contents on ω phase formation and transformation during solution treatment and the subsequent aging process, for which four model alloys with varying Fe and Cr contents but keeping Mo equivalent of ~ 12.6 were prepared by plasma arc melting and fabricated into plates by hot forging followed by hot-rolling. The atherrmal ω phase was observed in all Ti alloys after solution treatment followed by water quenching through XRD and TEM analysis. The largest volume fraction of athermal ω phase is formed in Ti alloy with only Fe 4 wt.% among all Ti alloys, leading to the highest Vickers value due to hardening effect ω phase. It was found that not only Mo equivalent but also each characteristic of β stabilizing elements should be considered to understand a microstructure evolution and mechanical properties.