Microstructure characterization of titanium-base aluminium alloys by X-ray diffraction using Warren–Averbach and Rietveld method

Present study considers microstructural characterization of titanium-base aluminium (Ti–Al) alloys, which are widely used in the aviation industry due to its excellent combination of strength and ductility. The microstructural parameters like domain size, microstrain within the domain, dislocation density and stacking fault probabilities have been evaluated in hexagonal Ti–Al alloys having four different nominal compositions in at.% by X-ray diffraction Fourier line profile analysis using Warren–Averbach and Rietveld method taking silicon as standard. This analysis shows that the deformation growth faults β are totally absent in this hexagonal system, because it has been observed to be either negligibly small (within experimental error) or negative. This analysis also reveals that the tendency for deformation faulting α increases by the addition of aluminium as solute and hence lowers its stacking fault energy.