Abstract
The field-assisted sintering technique (FAST) was successfully used to sinter, homogenize, and age the Ti-5Al-5V-5Mo-3Cr (Ti-5553) aerospace alloy from blended elemental powders in a single processing run. Sintering at a comparatively high temperature of 1500 degrees C assured chemical homogeneity of the material.
Subsequently, without cooling to the room temperature, the temperature was lowered to 600 degrees C for 30 min to provide annealing treatment and to produce a desired lamellar alpha + beta microstructure. Using an in-house designed assembly, a fully dense rod of 15 mm in diameter and 70 mm in length was successfully sintered.
Microstructural and mechanical properties of the alloy were investigated and compared with the conventionally processed Ti-5553 alloy. A good combination of strength (1183 MPa) and ductility (6 pct) was achieved; these values are fully comparable to the conventional cast, forged, and aged Ti-5553 alloy.
It was shown that homogeneous Ti-5553 alloy can be produced by FAST, FAST can instantly provide necessary annealing steps, and the FAST process can be upscaled to produce homogeneous rods.