Wencel Zbigniew, Wiewiórowska Sylwia, Wieczorek Paweł, Gontarz Andrzej
Pratt & Whitney Kalisz, ul. Elektryczna 4a, 62-800 Kalisz, Poland.
Faculty of Production Engineering and Materials Technology, Czestochowa University of Technology, 42-201 Czestochowa, Poland.
Materials (Basel). 2023 Jul 23;16(14):5174. doi: 10.3390/ma16145174.
The electron beam welding process of titanium alloys induces a series of physicochemical changes in the material that remain a relevant and necessary area of investigation. A necessary step performed after the electron beam welding process of titanium alloys in the Ti6Al-4V grade to mitigate the resulting thermal stresses is the post-weld heat-treatment process conducted through stress relieving. This study presents the comparative analysis results of the mechanical properties and structure of the Ti6Al-4V titanium alloy after electron beam welding and subsequent stress-relieving heat treatment at a temperature of 590 °C for 2 h. The analysis focused on the levels of mechanical properties such as microhardness in the heat-affected zone and weld, tensile strength, and microstructure analysis in the heat-affected zone and weld. The aim of the research was to answer the questions regarding whether the post-weld heat treatment through stress relieving after electron beam welding of the Ti6Al-4V titanium alloy would significantly affect the changes in mechanical properties and microstructure of the alloy and whether the applied welding speed in the study would cause a significant depletion of alloying elements in the material. During the course of the study, it was found that conducting the electron beam welding process at a speed of 8 mm/s resulted in a depletion of one of the alloying elements (aluminum) in the face area. However, the decrease in aluminum content was not significant and did not exceed the critical value of 6% specified in the material standards, which determined the material's application based on its strength properties.
钛合金的电子束焊接过程会在材料中引发一系列物理化学变化，这仍是一个相关且必要的研究领域。在Ti6Al-4V等级的钛合金进行电子束焊接后，为减轻产生的热应力而采取的一个必要步骤是通过消除应力进行焊后热处理。本研究展示了Ti6Al-4V钛合金在电子束焊接以及随后在590℃温度下进行2小时消除应力热处理后的力学性能和组织结构的对比分析结果。分析聚焦于热影响区和焊缝处的显微硬度、抗拉强度等力学性能水平，以及热影响区和焊缝的微观结构分析。该研究的目的是回答关于Ti6Al-4V钛合金电子束焊接后通过消除应力进行的焊后热处理是否会显著影响合金的力学性能和微观结构变化，以及研究中所采用的焊接速度是否会导致材料中合金元素的显著损耗等问题。在研究过程中发现，以8mm/s的速度进行电子束焊接过程会导致表面区域的一种合金元素（铝）出现损耗。然而，铝含量的降低并不显著，且未超过材料标准中规定的6%的临界值，该临界值根据材料的强度性能决定其应用。
