GOALI: A New Manufacturing Method for Low Cost High Performance Titanium

在重量小得多的情况下，钛合金可以比钢更坚固。然而，钛广泛使用的最大障碍是其高昂的成本，其中很大一部分来自于高昂的加工成本。介绍了一种名为氢烧结的新粉末冶金工艺，该工艺可以生产钛零件，其机械性能可以与锻造的标准钛零件竞争，但成本只有一小部分。这一新工艺非常有希望大幅降低钛零部件的成本。钛零件可以用于许多应用(生物医学、化学加工、航空航天等)，但对运输部门有特别的好处。通过减轻车辆重量，将实现燃料消耗的显著节省，以及相关排放的减少。该奖项支持对与钛粉末工艺相关的基本冶金工艺以及通过改变工艺参数可以实现的机械性能的全面研究。在这项研究计划中，PI将系统地研究几种热处理方案可以获得的机械性能范围，这些方案已经显示出通过这种新的粉末冶金方法生产锻造类组织的能力。研究了工艺参数对钛合金-氢系统相平衡的影响，以及热循环和氢分压对相变和组织演变的影响，相变的机制和动力学，以及力学性能，特别是疲劳性能对组织的依赖。通过研究这些关系，并应用所获得的知识，以极低的成本最大化钛合金的强度、延展性和疲劳性能，将朝着实现钛在工业和社会中的全部效益迈出重要的一步。

Titanium alloys can be stronger than steel at much lower weight. The greatest barrier to the widespread use of titanium, however, has been its high cost, much of which comes from high processing costs. A new powder metallurgy process called hydrogen sintering has been introduced that can produce titanium components with the capacity to compete with the mechanical properties of standard titanium parts produced by forging, but at a fraction of the cost. This new process is very promising for dramatically reducing the cost of titanium parts and components. Titanium parts can be used in many applications (biomedical, chemical processing, aerospace, etc.), but have particular benefit to the transportation sector. By reducing the weight of vehicles, significant savings in fuel consumption will be realized, as well as associated reductions in emissions. This award supports a comprehensive study of the fundamental underlying metallurgical processes associated with the titanium powder process, and the mechanical properties that can be achieved by varying process parameters. In this research program, the PIs will systematically study the range of mechanical properties that can be attained by several heat treating options that have already shown the capacity to produce wrought-like microstructures from this novel powder metallurgy approach. Processing parameters will be studied for their effects on phase equilibria in the relevant titanium alloy-hydrogen systems, as well as phase transformations and microstructural evolution as functions of thermal cycles and hydrogen partial pressures, the mechanisms and kinetics of the transformations, and the dependence of mechanical properties, especially the fatigue performance, on the microstructure. By studying these relationships and applying the knowledge gained toward maximizing the strength, ductility and fatigue properties of titanium alloys at substantially lower cost, a major step will be taken toward realizing the full benefit of titanium for industry and society.