Characterising the Effects of Strain Rate, Crystallographic Texture and Direction of Loading on the Mechanical Behaviour of Ti-6Al-4V

A cross-rolled plate of the industrially important titanium alloy, Ti-6Al-4V, has been microstructurally and mechanically characterised using a range of different experimental techniques. The microstructure of the material has been studied using backscatter electron (BSE) microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), with the crystallographic orientation data from the EBSD used to reconstruct the orientation distribution function of the dominant α phase. The mechanical behaviour of the material has been investigated at quasi-static and high strain rates in the three orthogonal material orientations in both tension and compression. A novel in situ optical measurement technique has been used to measure the geometry of the specimens during both quasi-static and high strain rate mechanical testing, improving the accuracy of the mechanical testing results and providing unprecedented information about the evolving geometries of the specimens. The macroscopic stress–strain response and the evolution of specimen cross-sectional profiles have been qualitatively linked to the macroscopic crystallographic texture in the plate.