A crystal plasticity model of Dynamic Strain Aging for a near-α Ti-alloy

Timetal-834, a near-α Ti-alloy, finds use in aeroengines due to its favorable properties. However, the alloy exhibits Dynamic Strain Aging (DSA) in the temperature range of 350-475 °C, that can cause it to fail early during service. As DSA is due to the micro-scale interaction between the diffusing solutes and mobile dislocations, a crystal plasticity model is developed in this work to capture this phenomenon. Additionally, the influence of the α (HCP) and β (BCC) laths of the transformed-β colony of this alloy on the DSA behavior is captured by using an equivalent model based on Taylor’s assumption. The effect of slip system dependent lath and colony size effect due to Burger’s Orientation Relation is also incorporated. Crystal plasticity finite element method simulations of polycrystalline domains, representative of Timetal-834, are performed for calibration and validation of the model using the available temperature dependent experimental data, and successfully capture the flow stress and DSA behavior. The strain rate dependency of DSA predicted by the model also shows an excellent agreement when compared with experimental data. Microstructural analysis of the simulations show that the orientation of grains/colonies have a strong influence on the aging time and hence the DSA response. Also, the initiation of DSA and frequency of serrated slip on the aligned systems of laths show differences due to dissimilar resistances and constraints on plastic flow. Overall, the model developed in this work can capture the microstructure dependent DSA and can be utilized for engineering of Timetal-834.