Evolution of face-centered cubic Ti alloys transformation by X-ray diffraction profile analysis in mechanical alloying

Abstract

Four titanium alloys (Ti-Ta, Ti-Ta-Sn, Ti-Ta-Mn, and Ti-Nb-Sn) were synthesized by mechanical alloying (MA) in a planetary mill in different times between 2 h and 100 h. The microstructure characterization was made by X-ray diffraction (XRD), in which the Rietveld method was applied to analyze the diffraction patterns. The study demonstrated that after short milling times between 2 h and 30 h, the fraction of hexagonal close-packed (hcp) phase decreases; at the same time, the formation of body-centered cubic (bcc) and face-centered cubic (fcc) Ti phases are promoted. Additionally, after 30 h of MA, the full transformation of hcp-Ti was observed, and the bcc-Ti to fcc-Ti phase transformation took place until 50 h. The results suggest that the addition of Ta and Sn promotes the fcc-Ti phase formation, obtaining 100% of this phase at 50 h onwards, whereas Nb and Mn show the opposite effect.