Quantifying the effect of oxygen on micro-mechanical properties of a near-alpha titanium alloy

Abstract Titanium alloys are widely used in the aerospace industry, yet oxygen ingress can severely degrade mechanical properties of titanium alloy components. Atom probe tomography (APT), electron microanalysis (EPMA) and nanoindentation were to characterise oxygen-rich layer on an in-service jet engine compressor disc, manufactured from TIMETAL 834. Oxygen was quantified related changes through studies. The relationship between concentration, microstructure, crystal orientation hardness has been explored correlative mapping, EPMA backscatter diffraction (EBSD). It found that hardening effects microstructure crystallography only significant at very low-oxygen concentrations, whereas interstitial solid solution dominates by order magnitude for higher concentrations. role studied along a potential α / β interface directly observed nanoscale using APT.