β-Ti Grain Refinement Via α-Precipitation

The present work explores the impact of α precipitates on β recrystallization following hot deformation of Ti-5Al-5Mo-5V-3Cr with grains larger than 1 mm. A single hot rolling pass of 36 pct reduction was conducted on an aged microstructure containing α precipitates at a temperature well below the β transus temperature. After annealing, a uniformly recrystallized structure with a grain size of ~100 µm is formed. The prior β grain boundaries can be readily identified and it is seen that the primary β grains have been replaced by grains displaying a spread of correlated misorientation angles extending up to the highest allowable values. The annealing comprises two stages. The first stage involves normal β subgrain growth limited by the Zener pinning force of the unstable α precipitates. The second stage corresponds to the onset of β recrystallization at the point where the Zener pinning force drops due to dissolution of the α precipitates. This leads to a uniform distribution of site saturated recrystallization nuclei.