A Study on Drilling Machinability of γ-TiAl Alloy

Abstract

Intermetallic γ-TiAl alloy has excellent properties at high temperatures and is thus attracting attention as a substitute for nickel-based superalloy parts for turbine engines. However, γ-TiAl alloy is reported to be a difficult material to be machined due to its low ductility at room temperature, tensile strength, and thermal conductivity. In this study, a system capable of measuring thrust force (Tf) and torque (Tc) during the drilling process was constructed, and drilling processability according to the heat treated microstructure of γ-TiAl alloy was compared. As a result, it was confirmed that the thrust and torque of the γ-TiAl alloy having a microstructure in which the grains were refined by the heat treatment process was relatively low and rapidly stabilized, which is advantageous for drilling.

Keywords

• γ-tial alloy
• drilling
• machinability
• thrust
• torque