Pre-fatigue influence on quasi-static tensile properties of Ti-6Al-4V in thin-sheet form

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ghent University Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41, 9000 Gent, Belgium

^a e-mail: Jesus.GalanLopez@UGent.be

Abstract

The response of engineering structures to loads is most often assessed without taking possible damage of the used material(s) into account. However, it has already been proved that a preceding cyclic loading and the alteration of the microstructure it causes, can have a significant influence on the mechanical properties of steel grades and aluminium alloys , and hence on the behaviour of structural elements made of it. Ti-6Al4V, the most widely used titanium alloy, is often one of the materials chosen for cyclic loading applications where other solicitations are present too. Therefore, the influence of pre-fatigue on the quasi-static mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V in thin-sheet form is investigated. Tensile experiments are performed on samples subjected to different damage levels. The material does not show a clear dependence of its tensile properties with previous loading cycles, although the overall effect can be important for particular geometries.