Method for producing homogeneous fine grain titanium materials suitable for ultrasonic inspection

Abstract

A titanium material production method for producing homogeneous fine grain titanium material in which the titanium material has a grain size in a range from about 5 μm to about 20 μm. The method comprises providing a titanium material blank; conducting a first heat treatment on the titanium material blank to heat the titanium material blank to a β-range; quenching the titanium material blank from the β-region to the α+β-region; forging the titanium material blank; and conducting a second heat treatment on the titanium material blank. The titanium material production method subjects the titanium material blank to superplasticity conditions during part of the titanium material production method.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The invention relates to titanium material production methods. In particular, the invention relates to titanium material production methods that can produce titanium materials suitable for inspection using ultrasonic energy inspection methods and systems. [0002] The production of titanium material with titanium material grain sizes and nature of αTi particle colony structures may be important variables that influence titanium material applications. Further, size of titanium grains and a nature of αTi particle colony structures may influence the ultrasonic noise and ultrasonic inspection in single phase and two-phase titanium alloys and materials, in which the ultrasonic inspection can be used to determine suitability of the titanium material for various applications. The size of titanium grains and the nature of αTi particle colony structures may influence ultrasonic inspection techniques, methods, and results by creating undesirable noise during u...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

The size of titanium grains and the nature of αTi particle colony structures may influence ultrasonic inspection techniques, methods, and results by creating undesirable noise during ultrasonic inspection.

This noise may hide or mask critical flaws in titanium that may limit applications of the titanium.

While thermomechanical processing techniques that rely on dynamic recrystallization in the α+β temperature range to achieve uniform fine grain (UFG) αTi particles and prevent colony formation have been developed to improve titanium microstructure, defects may remain in the titanium material.

These defects may be undesirable for some titanium material applications.

Thus, the defects should be discovered prior to use of the titanium material in various microstructurally sensitive applications.

While this type of recrystallization has been proposed to improve titanium material microstructure, defects may remain in the titanium material, and these defects may limit applications of the titanium material.

Some of the defects in the titanium material may be difficult to detect using conventional ultrasonic inspection techniques and methods.

Materials forming articles and structures with large, elastically anisotropic grains, such as, but not limited to, cast ingots of steels, titanium alloys, and nickel alloys, are often difficult to evaluate by ultrasonic testing.

The difficulties arise, at least in part to, because sound waves, which are used for ultrasonic inspection, are reflected from grains and grain arrays sharing common elastic behavior, and represent a background “noise.” The generated background noise can mask flaws in the material, and is thus undesirable.

While ultrasonic inspection of most titanium material articles can be preformed with some degree of certainty, the shape, size, configuration, structure, and orientation of the articles, titanium material grains and microstructures formed during a titanium material production method undergoing ultrasonic inspection may impair the ultrasonic inspection.

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