Microstructure and texture evolution during friction stir processing of fully lamellar Ti-6Al-4V

Friction stir processing (FSP) was used to locally refine a thin surface layer of the coarse, fully lamellar microstructure of investment-cast Ti-6Al-4V. Depending on the peak temperature reached in the stir zone during processing relative to the β transus, three distinct classes of microstructures were observed. Using accepted wrought product terminology, they are equiaxed, bimodal, and lamellar, except for the case of FSP, the length scale of each was smaller by at least an order of magnitude compared to typical wrought material. The evolution of an initially strain-free fully lamellar microstructure to each of these three refined conditions was characterized with scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction. The fundamental mechanisms underlying grain refinement during FSP, including both the morphological changes and the formation of high-angle grain boundaries, were discussed.