Effect of complex combined loading mode on the fracture toughness of titanium alloys

This paper presents new experimental data concerning the effect of the complex combined loading mode on changes in the mechanical properties of titanium alloys of different classes subjected to static stretching. The complex combined loading mode consists in the application of additional pulse loads for given degrees of static pre-loading followed by quenching of titanium alloys at a temperature of liquid nitrogen under a pre-set scheme. The authors used a new method for studying the material fracture kinetics, the so-called method of complete stress-strain diagrams, to explore a full range of mechanical properties of titanium alloys subjected to the combined loading mode, including the crack resistance.