Microstructure and tensile strength of grade 2 titanium processed by equal-channel angular pressing and by rolling

Commercially pure titanium strengthened by severe plastic deformation constitutes an alternative to the use of complex Ti alloys in many medical or industrial applications. In this research, rods of grade 2 Ti were processed by up to six passes using Equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) at 573 K followed by cold rolling at room or subzero temperatures. After four passes of ECAP, the grain size was refined down to the submicrometer scale and subsequent rolling led to further refinement. The microstructure was characterized by taking Vickers microhardness measurements and tensile testing was performed both at room temperature and in the temperature range of 573–773 K. The results show that at all temperatures the tensile strength is significantly improved by means of these processing techniques. At room temperature, the ultimate tensile strength of pure Ti after ECAP plus subzero rolling is close to that of the traditional Ti-6Al-4V alloy while maintaining adequate levels of elongation to failure.