D. McEldowney, University of Dayton/SOCHE, Dayton, OH; S. Tamirisa, FMW Composite Systems Inc., Bridgeport, WV; R. B. Bhat, UES, Inc., Dayton, OH; D. Eylon, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH; D. Miracle, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH

Summary:

Ti-6Al-4V with small additions of boron produces material with substantial improvement in strength and stiffness compared to Ti-6Al-4V without boron addition. In this study, a prealloyed (PA) powder metallurgy technique was utilized to produce the Ti-6Al-4V-1.0B and Ti-6Al-4V-1.6B (wt.%) compositions. The powders were consolidated through blind die compaction, and exposed to subsequent thermo-mechanical processing, which established baseline specimens for comparison. Post heat-treating was then performed at predetermined parameters above and below the beta-transus, which produced a variety of microstructures. Microstructural analysis was performed on the baseline and post heat-treated specimens, and mechanical testing completed. Tensile test results of the post heat-treated specimens indicated strengths as high as 1635 MPa (237 ksi) yield and 1695 MPa (245 ksi) ultimate, a 50-70% improvement over frequently used mill annealed Ti-6Al-4V, with moderate ductility.