Abstract:The microstructure evolution and strengthening behavior of the ultra-high strength Ti-15Mo-2.7Nb- 3Al-0.2Si titanium alloy were studied utilizing XRD, OM, SEM, and TEM analyses. The results show that the dislocation-strengthening and precipitation-strengthening effects could mostly affect the yield strength of this alloy. The highest yield strength of 1518 MPa was obtained under a combined process of cold rolling + recrystallization + cold rolling + duplex aging. This trend is mainly due to the high density of remaining dislocations, as well as dense and thin secondary α phases in microstructures. A theoretical composite-strengthening model was built, and the prediction error is within 16.6%. Furthermore, it is found that increasing the content of the secondary α phase can continuously strengthen the intragrain zone. This feature causes the intergranular fracture to appear and gradually dominate the fracture surface.

Key words: strengthening model; ultra-high strength; strengthening behavior; titanium alloy; Ti-15Mo-2.7Nb- 3Al-0.2Si