Effect of microstructure on the high-cycle fatigue behavior of Ti(43-44)Al4Nb1Mo (TNM) alloys

To investigate the high-cycle fatigue (HCF) behavior of TNM alloys, three different microstructures were designed and obtained by different heat treatments. Staircase tests and fatigue tests in a finite life-region were performed to evaluate the fatigue properties. Then, the fracture surfaces were analyzed to study the fracture behavior of TNM alloys with different microstructures. Results showed that the TNM alloys with duplex microstructure possesses the highest fatigue strength and fatigue life, followed by near lamellar TiAl alloys. HCF failure exhibited cleavage fracture morphologies, and multiple facets were generated in the crack initiation region of different TNM alloys. Two different crack initiation modes, subsurface crack nucleation and surface origin, were observed. Both crack initiation modes appeared in near lamellar alloys, while only subsurface crack initiation were obtained in the duplex (DP) alloy. It contributes to the high scatter of S-N data. The HCF failure of TNM alloys was dominated by crack nucleation rather than crack propagation. These findings could provide guidance for optimizing the microstructure and improving the HCF properties of TiAl alloys.