The quasi-static and dynamic tensile behaviors in electron beam welded（EBW） Ti-6Al-4V alloy were investigated at strain rates of 10-3 and 103 s-1,respectively,by materials test system（MTS） and reconstructive Hopkinson bars apparatus.The microstructures of the base metal（BM） and the welded metal（WM） were observed with optical microscope.The fracture characteristics of the BM and WM were characterized with scanning electronic microscope.In Ti-6Al-4V alloy joint,the flow stress of WM is higher than that of BM,while the fracture strain of WM is less than that of BM at strain rates of 103 and 10-3 s-1,respectively.The fracture strain of WM has apparent improvement when the strain rate rises from 10-3 to 103 s-1,while the fracture strain of BM almost has no change.At the same time,the fracture mode of WM alters from brittle to ductile fracture,which causes improvement of the fracture strain of WM.
The dynamic fracture behaviors of Ti-6Al-4V alloy at high strain rate loading were investigated systemically through Taylor impact test, over the range of impact velocities from 145 m/s to 306 m/s. The critical impact velocity of fracture ranges from 217 m/s to 236 m/s. Smooth surfaces and ductile dimple areas were observed on the fracture surfaces. As the impact velocity reached 260 m/s, the serious melting regions were also observed on the fracture surfaces. Self-organization of cracks emerges when the impact velocity reaches 260 m/s, while some special cracks whose ＂tips＂ are not sharp but arc and smooth, and without any evidence of deformation or adiabatic shear band were also observed on the impact end surfaces. Examination of the sections of these special cracks reveals that the cracks expand along the two maximum shear stress directions respectively, and finally intersect as a tridimensional ＂stagger ridge＂ structure.
Separated specimens of Ti-6Al-4V alloy were dynamically loaded at a strain rate of 3 900 s-1 using a split Hopkinson pressure bar（SHPB） apparatus.The fracture features of the separated specimens were investigated by a scanning electron microscope.The results show that adiabatic shear failure occurs in the tested specimens,and two typical areas（dimple and smooth areas） with different features are alternatively distributed on the whole fracture surface.The dimple areas originate from voids generation and coalescence,exhibiting ductile fracture characteristics.Simultaneously,ultrafine grains（UFGs） and microcracks among grains are observed on the smooth areas,indicating that the emergence of UFG areas is caused by the propagation of microcracks along grain boundaries and exhibits brittle fracture characteristics.Fracture occurring in adiabatic shear bands is not uniform and ultimate rupture is resulted from ductile and brittle fracture modes.
