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Chinese Journal of Materials Research  2026, Vol. 40 Issue (8): 595-604    DOI: 10.11901/1005.3093.2026.140
SPECIAL TOPiC: TITANIUM ALLOY Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Effect of Thermomechanical Processing on Fracture Toughness of Ti55531 Alloy Bar for Fasteners
SONG Xiaotong1, CHEN Sixu2, QIU Jianke2(), HU Ming2, ZHANG Mingjie2, ZAN Xiaodong2, LEI Jiafeng2
1.School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
2.Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
Cite this article: 

SONG Xiaotong, CHEN Sixu, QIU Jianke, HU Ming, ZHANG Mingjie, ZAN Xiaodong, LEI Jiafeng. Effect of Thermomechanical Processing on Fracture Toughness of Ti55531 Alloy Bar for Fasteners. Chinese Journal of Materials Research, 2026, 40(8): 595-604.

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Abstract  

The specified two type of rolled and rolled+drawn near β-Ti based alloy Ti-55531 bars respectively were subjected to solution at 760 oC for 1 h and air-cooled, followed by aging at 560 oC for 4 h then air-cooling. Then their microstructure, texture characteristics, and fracture toughness were systematically investigated, in terms of the influence of different thermomechanical processing routes on the crack propagation path. The results show that thermomechanical deformation can significantly refine the primary α-phase, leading to a refined and more homogeneous microstructure of the alloy bars. The bars subjected to drawing deformation exhibit pronounced fiber textures: β-phase <110>//AD and α phase <0001>//AD. Compared with the ϕ61 mm rolled bar, the ϕ12 mm bars exhibit improved plasticity and toughness while maintaining comparable strength. The ϕ12 mm bar prepared by rolling+drawing demonstrates the best strength-toughness balance, with a fracture toughness of 34.63 MPa·m1/2, which is 43.5% and 19.7% higher than those of the ϕ61 mm and ϕ12 mm merely rolled bars, respectively. Furthermore, crack propagation analysis indicates that the existed strong texture in the rolled+drawn bars is conductive to triggering the crack deflection effect significantly, thereby achieving geometric toughening.

Key words:  metallic materials      fracture toughness      microstructure      Ti55531 alloy     
Received:  16 March 2026     
ZTFLH:  TG146.2+3  
Fund: National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFB3708300);Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences(2022188)
Corresponding Authors:  QIU Jianke, Tel: (024)23971958, E-mail: jkqiu@imr.ac.cn

URL: 

https://www.cjmr.org/EN/10.11901/1005.3093.2026.140     OR     https://www.cjmr.org/EN/Y2026/V40/I8/595

ElementsAlMoVCrZrFeOHNTi
Content5.324.775.072.921.110.380.110.00370.0089Bal.
Table 1  Chemical composition of the Ti55531 alloy (mass fraction, %)
Fig.1  Schematic illustration of the thermomechanical processing route (a), initial microstructure of the R61 bar (b) and schematic diagram of the heat treatment process (c)
Fig.2  Schematic illustration of sampling for microstructure analysis and specimens for tensile and fracture toughness tests
Fig.3  SEM microstructures of Ti55531 bars under different processing conditions (a, d) R61, (b, e) R12, (c, f) D12, (a-c) thermomechanically processed condition, (d-f) heat-treated condition. Inverse pole figure (IPF) of the bars after heat treatment: (g) R12, (h) D12
Fig.4  Statistical results of the αp and αs phase sizes of Ti55531 bars under different processing conditions (a, d) R61, (b, e) R12, (c, f) D12
Fig.5  Pole figures of α and β phases in Ti55531 bars under different processing conditions after heat treatment (a) R61, (b) R12, (c) D12
SpecimenRm / MPaRP0.2 / MPaA / %KIC / MPa·m1/2
R61138913561324.13
R121299127619.528.94
D121356131616.334.63
Table 2  Tensile properties and fracture toughness of Ti55531 alloy bars under different processing conditions
Fig.6  Load-displacement curves of the Ti55531 alloy under different thermomechanical deformation conditions
Fig.7  Macroscopic photographs and SEM images of the SEB fracture morphologies of Ti55531 alloy under different processing conditions (a, d) R61, (b, e) R12, (c, f) D12
Fig.8  SEM micrographs of crack propagation paths in SEB specimens of Ti55531 bars under different processing conditions (a, d) R61, (b, e) R12, (c, f) D12
Fig.9  SEM micrographs and corresponding schematic diagrams illustrating the effect of microstructure on crack propagation paths in Ti55531 bars under different processing conditions (a, d) R61, (b, e) R12, (c, f) D12
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