Near-alpha titanium alloys are used for moderate-temperature applications in the early stages of the compressor in gas turbine engines. The quasi-static and fatigue properties of these alloys depend heavily on microstructure due to the absence of hard second phases and inclusions which can nucleate voids or cracks. Moreover, these alloys are known to exhibit a significant reduction in fatigue life when subjected to high mean stress or upon the application of dwell-fatigue cycles. Previous analysis has elucidated the microstructural features that drive these properties; the most important features are the volume fraction, size, and shape of clusters of similarly oriented alpha particles or microtextured regions (MTRs). To date, there have been few efforts to elucidate in a quantitative fashion the evolution of MTRs during thermomechanical processing (TMP). To meet this need, we have performed hot-compression tests on Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo-0.1Si billet material with high-aspect-ratio MTRs at 0°, 45°, and 90° to the direction of primary metal flow during manufacture (i.e., the billet axis), thoroughly characterized the initial and final microstructures, and quantified field variables via finite-element method (FEM) process simulations for each experiment. These data can be used for a variety of purposes including the development, verification, and validation of models for microstructure/texture/microtexture evolution and defect formation.
