Materials Science Forum, Vol.447-4, 233-238, 2003
Lowering the heat - The development of reduced SPF temperature titanium alloys for aircraft production
Boeing has had seven years of high rate production of SPF titanium parts. The effect of 900degreesC forming temperature on die life, part surface finish and alpha case formation has been documented, which has shown that there would be a great advantage in forming at a lower temperature. This paper investigates in detail the SPF properties of three new alloy developments, SP700 from NKK/RMI (USA), fine grain Ti-6-4 from VSMPO (Russia) and sub-microcrystalline Ti-6-4 from IMSP (Russia). All these alloys are formable at around 760degreesC. The relationship between temperature and SPF stress, elongation, oxygen contamination and formability is examined and compared between the alloys. In addition, the probability of the alloy being implemented is discussed.