Swift heavy ion irradiation damage in Ti–6Al–4V and Ti–6Al–4V–1B: Study of the microstructure and mechanical properties

The α+β alloy Ti–6Al–4V (wt.%) and the boron-modified Ti–6Al–4V–1B (wt.%), due to their low activation, corrosion resistance, good mechanical properties, and their commercial availability, were chosen as candidate materials for the beam dump for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIBs) at Michigan State University: a new generation accelerator with high power heavy ion beams. Through this study our goal is to establish the first irradiation data of the recently developed Ti–6Al–4V–1B (wt.%) alloy and investigate the changes in microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti–6Al–4V due to swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation damage. The results of hardness measurements showed that the studied Ti–6Al–4V (wt.%) and Ti–6Al–4V–1B (wt.%) alloy, under the specified irradiation conditions, exhibited a high irradiation resistance. In fact, only a slight hardening was observed (∼13%) in the tested samples and no changes in the microstructure were observed. Temperature, dose and electronic excitation effects were also discussed.