Influence of aging heat treatment on microstructure and tensile properties of laser oscillating welded TB8 titanium alloy joints

Investigations were conducted on TB8 titanium alloy to assess the influence of aging heat treatment on microstructure and phase transformations induced by laser oscillating welding, and establish a correlation between tensile properties and microstructure. Low-temperature aging joint consists of ω phase and β phase, while high-temperature aging joint is comprised of α phase and β phase. The formation of poor and rich precipitation zone in weld area was due to segregation of major alloying elements like Al, Mo and Nb. Low-temperature aging deteriorates plasticity of joints, but high-temperature aging improved ambient-/elevated-temperature tensile properties. The effect of aging temperature and aging time were discussed in depth. After aging treatment at 450° Celsius for 1 h, intermediate ω phase in gathering place transformed to α phase, but dispersed ω phase still retained. With the increase of aging temperature and aging time, size of α precipitate increased. Note that there is a significant increase (85%) in tensile strength after high-temperature aging treatment and Portevin-Le Chatelier (PLC) effect can be avoided under thermo-mechanical loading conditions. It was found that after 1 h of aging treatment at 550° Celsius followed by air cooling, the welded joints owned the best tensile properties at both ambient and elevated temperature.