Study of microstructure evolution and strengthening mechanisms in novel TiZrAlB alloy

In this paper, the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of the as-cast Ti-χZr-4Al-0.005B (TχZAB and χ=0, 10, 20, 30, 40 wt%) alloys were systematically investigated. Only the α phase was detected from the X-ray diffraction patterns of the as-cast TχZAB quaternary alloy series. As the Zr content increased, the average size and length-diameter ratio of the α grains were decreased from 69.8 μm to 17.1 µm and 37.5 to 8.4, respectively. The analysis of the results from the tensile and microhardness tests demonstrated that both the strength and hardness increased significantly as the Zr content increased (from 0 wt% to 40 wt%). Nevertheless, the ductility exhibited an opposite trend. The fracture mode of the ductile-brittle transfer was consistent with the ductility alteration. The as-cast Ti-40Zr-4Al-0.005B alloys demonstrated the highest tensile strength (σb=1134 MPa), which increased by 53% compared to the Ti-4Al-0.005B alloys, whereas the lowest elongation-to-failure was of 6.77%. The mechanical properties of the TχZAB alloy series were discussed based on the microstructural evolution and the solid solution strengthening mechanisms.