Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Summary of ProposalTitanium alloys have been widely used in the aerospace, chemical, and biomedical industries due to their high specific strength and excellent corrosion resistance. For the next generation of lighter and energy-efficient aircraft structures, the use of high strength near- Ti-alloys in the fuselage, bogie beam, flap track, nacelles, pylon, and la195nding gear assemblies will be cost effective from the perspective of weight reduction and mechanical properties compared to the industry workhorse Ti-6Al-4V, the most widely used + alloy. Major aerospace manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing have started to use forged near- Ti-alloys as landing gear components. It is expected that near- Ti-alloys will gain wider applications in the future. However, while significant research has been conducted on near- Ti-alloy design, little work has been done to understand the microstructure-mechanical properties correlations from the industrial manufacturing point of view, especially during processes such as, welding, forming, and additive manufacturing (AM).The properties of near- Ti-alloys are highly dependent on their internal microstructure, which often is composed of multiple phases and precipitates. The volume fraction, size, morphology, and distribution of these precipitates can significantly influence the mechanical properties of the near- Ti-alloys. Therefore, a complete and detailed understanding on phase transformations and microstructural evolution are crucial to optimize the mechanical properties for various applications. I am proposing a detailed study on a near- Ti-alloy using various industrial manufacturing processes, such as joining, forming, and AM. The main objectives of this proposed research program for the next five years are:(1) To optimize the processing parameters for various industrial manufacturing methods.(2) To learn how to control the microstructures through different thermal and thermo-mechanical processing. (3) To study individual microstructural features quantitatively and correlate it to the corresponding mechanical properties.