Electron backscattering pattern identification of surface morphology of fatigue cracks in TA6V

Fatigue crack growth in an tl + titanium alloy (TA6V) with three microstructural conditions is studied in high vacuum at 300°C. The faster growth rates are observed in the material with a low content of primary c( phase and a fine equiaxed microstructure. Near the threshold regime, a slow crystallographic Stage I-like propagation is observed in the three microstructural types where slip occurs along a single-plane system which develops within the CL grains. These crystallographic facets are identified using an electron backscattering pattern (EBSP) technique and were found to lie on basal planes.