STRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF COMPACTS PRODUCED FROM RAPIDLYSOLIDIFIED VT6S-ALLOY POWDERS IN HYDROGEN-CONTAINING ATMOSPHERE

The state of the surface of compacts produced from rapidly solidified (RS) titanium-alloy powders determined by the presence of an oxide him is an important factor affecting their quality. A decrease in its thi ckness results in increased reliability of diffusion welding between p articles during hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and, as a consequence, in improved mechanical properties of the compacts, their enhanced ductil ity, in particular. The possibility of improving the surface quality o f VT6S-titanium-alloy powders produced by the PREP method by introduci ng up to 10% hydrogen to the cooling inert-gas atmosphere is studied i n this paper. The structure and mechanical properties of as-HIPed and heat-treated compacts are described. Copyright (C) 1997 International Association for Hydrogen Energy.