Nonequilibrium phase transformations in bcc titanium and niobium alloys

The major goal throughout this entire study was to find a bulk β-titanium amorphous system. In this case, the feasibility of bulk amorphization by destabilizing the crystalline phase in bcc titanium alloys is developed. The binary Ti-Cr system was previously reported, by others, to undergo spontaneous vitrification. This work was later proven to be irreproducible by several other groups. With the proper alloying additions to the Ti-Cr system, the resultant bcc matrix is extremely unstable, however, the formation of α, ω, and intermetallics is inhibited. Powders of the complex system Ti₆₅Cr₁₃Cu ₁₆Mn₄Fe₂ transform to a fully amorphous structure after just 3 to 4 hours of mechanical milling. In bulk, this system forms nanoscale disordered regions, totaling 20 to 30% of the microstructure, upon annealing of the metastable bcc phase. The phase separation, β → β + β′ accompanies this transformation and induces strain into the matrix. Analytical high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is used to characterize the decomposition behavior by obtaining physical measurements of the microstructure and chemistry, and to determine the mechanism of the phase separation. High resolution and analytical TEM data map the development of successive chromium rich (copper poor) and chromium poor (copper rich) regions formed in ⟨100⟩ directions during heat treatment. This reaction is shown to occur by spinodal decomposition. A known bcc, binary spinodal decomposition system, Nb-Zr, was chosen as a reference system to verify the spinodal mechanism in the 5-component titanium system and to validate the use of analytical TEM to characterize spinodal decomposition. The Ti-Cr system is also investigated for comparison with the complex Ti-Cr-Cu-Mn-Fe system and to resolve some of the issues presented during the earlier spontaneous vitrification studies. Finally, a combination of high resolution TEM and chemical analysis is utilized to differentiate between the different possible β phase decomposition mechanisms in the Ti-Cr system. While this research looks at different processes such as mechanical milling or characterizes the related phase transformations, the motive is always to learn about the instability of the β phase as it pertains to bulk amorphization.