Characterization and analysis of deformation heterogeneities in commercial purity titanium

The effects of solute oxygen, loading direction and strain level on the microscale plastic strain distribution in representative areas of commercially-pure titanium have been characterized by correlation of high resolution SEM images captured during in situ tensile tests. A spatial organization of highly-deformed bands was observed from the early stages of plastic flow and remained nearly unchanged as the materials were strained. The high strains close to grain boundaries were related to intense local slip activity, grain boundary sliding or kink bands formation. The plastic strain field was more homogeneous in the oxygen-rich material, which was attributed primarily to a smaller contribution of grain boundary sliding, due to the presence of hard β phase particles along the grain boundaries.