ωo phase precipitation in annealed high Nb containing TiAl alloys

The ordered ω phases in high Nb containing TiAl (Nb-TiAl) alloys have been garnering increasing attention in the recent years. However, the investigations on the Nb dependence on the ωo precipitation are scarce. In this study, the effect of Nb content on the ωo precipitation in high Nb (6-10 at%) containing TiAl alloys after long-time annealing at 850 °C has been studied. The results show that small ordered ω particles in the retained βo phase cannot be discerned under scanning electron microscope (SEM) but can be observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Although the Nb segregation can be eliminated after the homogenization heat treatment, the ωo phase precipitated in all the alloys studied after annealing at 850 °C. TEM examination reveals that the orientation relationship between the ωo and α2 phases can be derived as: [0001]ωo//[112̄0]α2; (112̄0)ωo//(0001)α2, which indicates that the ωo phase is directly transformed from the parent α2 phase. Small γ particles are also observed within the ωo areas. The α2→ωo+γ decomposition process is expected during annealing. It is concluded that ωo phase is an equilibrium phase in high Nb-TiAl alloys at 850 °C.