Interaction of defects, martensitic transformation and slip in metastable body centred cubic crystals of Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al: A study via crystal plasticity finite element methods (CPFEM)

Metastable β titanium alloys are widely applied in many industries. These alloys can have plastic deformation via dislocation slip, twinning, stress-induced martensite (SIM), or a combination of these. These alloys fail in a ductile manner via a process of void nucleation, growth, and coalescence. Inherent defects, such as voids, are commonly attributed to poor mechanical properties. In this study, aspects of plastic anisotropy in damage accumulation are investigated for metastable crystals that deform by combined slip and SIM. The focus of this study is to understand the evolution of damage due to inherent voids in metastable Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al single crystals. This investigation is conducted using crystal plasticity-based 3D finite element (FE) calculations. A unit-cell FE model involving a spherical void is deformed under constant stress triaxiality and lode parameter. We investigated four triaxiality values at differing lode parameters in three crystal orientations. The void growth was found to be heavily dependent on crystal orientation at low triaxialities. At higher triaxialities, SIM is found to inhibit the void growth via accommodation of the required deformation in the surrounding material. Orientations aligned favourable with SIM undergo significantly less void growth. The accommodation of deformation in the surrounding matrix was found to help preserve the integrity of the void, preventing the localisation of deformation around the void. At lower lode parameter and at higher stress triaxiality this impedes the exponential growth of the void. While, at higher lode parameter with low triaxiality SIM was found to delay the collapse of the void into a crack like morphology. This study not only deepens our understanding of the mechanical behaviour of metastable β titanium alloys, but also unveils the complex interplay between inherent defects, stress-induced martensite, and slip-based plasticity within their crystalline structure, offering fresh perspectives on enhancing material performance.