Mechanical behavior and microstructure properties of titanium powder consolidated by high-pressure torsion

Research was conducted to investigate the potential for consolidating titanium powder using high-pressure torsion (HPT) at room temperature. The nanostructured samples processed by HPT were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show there is a significant refinement of the Ti powder and it consolidates into bulk nanostructured titanium with a mean grain size estimated by TEM as ~200-300 nm and a mean crystallite size measured by XRD as ~20-30 nm. Microhardness measurements and tensile testing show high strength and low ductility after consolidation under a pressure of 6.0 GPa for 5 revolutions. Additional short annealing at a temperature of 300 °C for 10 min leads to a significant enhancement in ductility while maintaining the high strength.