Notch brittleness of Ti–15V–3Cr–3Sn–3Al alloys

The notch brittleness of Ti–15V–3Cr–3Sn–3Al (Ti-15-3) alloy aged at six given temperatures ranging from 317 to 593 °C was investigated through notched tensile and J-integral tests in this work. As a whole, the notched tensile strength and J-integral values of Ti-15-3 alloy increased with increasing aging temperature. Moreover, the index of the brittleness of notched tensile samples had the same trend of variation in character as the J-integral values of compact tension specimens, i.e., the lowest notched tensile strength, the poorest J-integral value. Ti-15-3 alloy aged at 371 °C exhibited the highest notch sensitivity, which could be attributed to the presence of ultra-fine α precipitates in the β matrix.

► The notch brittleness of Ti-15-3 alloy aged at six given temperatures was investigated through notched tensile and J-integral tests.
► The notched tensile strength and J-integral values of Ti-15-3 alloy increased with increasing aging temperature at above 371 °C.
► The specimens with high notch sensitivity were associated with their lower notch brittleness indexes and J-integral values.