Martensite decomposition during rapid heating of Ti-6Al-4V studied via in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction

Martensite, alpha', commonly appears in Ti-6Al-4V upon rapid cooling from above the beta-transus temperature. It is known that alpha' decomposes into alpha and beta at high temperatures but well below the beta-transus temperature. Here, we study the decomposition of martensitic Ti-6Al-4V under rapid laser heating, employing in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction. A comparison is made with post-annealed Ti-6Al-4V under heating to elucidate changes without martensite decomposition. The fast acquisition of X-ray diffraction data at 250 Hz temporally resolves the decomposition process initiated by annihilating dislocations in alpha'. The recovery process is accompanied by structural changes in martensite, followed by the phase transformation to beta. Thermal profiles estimated from the lattice parameter data reveal the influence of heating rates and dislocation densities on the decomposition process. Throughout the analysis of the diffraction profiles with respect to estimated temperature, we propose a straightforward method for approximating the initiation temperature of martensite decomposition. Martensite in Ti-6Al-4V is known to decompose under heating. This study employs rapid laser heating in situ in a synchrotron to study changes in the diffraction profiles during the martensite decomposition process.