Investigation of cracking and erratic behavior of the uranium-titanium alloy

Conference · Wed Jul 07 04:00:00 EDT 1993

OSTI ID:10180427

Bird, E L

The uranium-0.8 wt % titanium (U-0.8 Ti) alloy is often used in weapon applications where high strength and fairly good ductility are necessary. Components are immersion quenched in water from the gamma phase to produce a martensitic structure that is amenable to aging. Undesirable conditions occur when a component occasionally cracks during the quenching process, and when tensile specimens fail prematurely during mechanical testing. These two failures prompted an investigative analysis and a series of studies to determine the causes of the cracking and erratic behavior observed in this alloy. Quench-related failures whereby components that cracked either during or immediately after the heat treatment/quenching operation were sectioned for metallographic examination of the microstructure to examine the degree of phase transformation. Examination of premature tensile specimen failures by scanning electron microscopy and x-ray imaging of fracture surfaces revealed pockets of inclusions at the crack origins. In addition, tests were conducted to evaluate the detrimental effects of internal hydrogen on ductility and crack initiation in this allay.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OS21400
• OSTI ID: 10180427
• Report Number(s): Y/DV--1227; CONF-9307118--1; ON: DE93018591
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360102
360103
CRACKS
DUCTILITY
HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT
INCLUSIONS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
MICROSTRUCTURE
QUENCHING
STRUCTURE AND PHASE STUDIES
TENSILE PROPERTIES
TITANIUM ADDITIONS
URANIUM BASE ALLOYS