High temperature oxidation and mechanical behavior of β21s and Ti6242S Ti-based alloys

Abstract

Aircraft industry always looks for higher in-service temperatures and lighter structures. With a high specific strength, Ti-based alloys are good candidates for such applications. However, when exposed to oxidizing environments at high temperatures, they undergo large oxygen dissolution while forming an oxide scale, which can greatly affect their mechanical properties. Then, evaluating the oxidation resistance and mechanical behavior of such alloys is essential. In this aim, long term oxidation tests were performed under laboratory air between 500 °C and 625 °C on two Ti-based alloys: β21s, exhibiting a fully β microstructure supposed to dissolve lower amount of oxygen and nitrogen, and Ti6242S, with an α/β microstructure. The oxidized samples were characterized using XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM-EDS and micro-durometer. As for the mechanical behavior, tensile tests were performed at room temperature on not aged and on oxidized samples. While larger mass variations were obtained at 500 and 560 °C and up to 997 h at 625 °C for β21s, its mass variations became lower than those of Ti6242S for longer durations at 625 °C. Nevertheless, β21s exhibited thicker micro-hardness affected depths and underwent larger mechanical property modifications compared to Ti6242S.