Titanium alloys respond well to heat treatment be it to increase strength (age hardening), reduce residual stresses, or minimize tradeoffs in ductility, machinability, and dimensional and structural stability (annealing). This chapter describes the phase transformations associated with these processes, explaining how and why they occur and how they are typically controlled. It makes extensive use of phase diagrams and cooling curves to illustrate the effects of alloying and quenching on beta-to-alpha transformations and the conditions that produce metastable phases. It also examines several time-temperature-transformation diagrams, which account for the effect of cooling rate.

The practical application of metals and alloys is guided largely by information obtained through the study of their microstructure. This chapter examines a wide range of titanium microstructures, identifying characteristic features and explaining what they reveal about processing, properties, and performance. It includes images of elongated and equiaxed structures, primary alpha, transformed beta, and metastable phases as well as spheroidal and intergranular beta, alpha case, and intermetallic compounds. It also defines important terms and provides step-by-step procedures for preparing titanium for metallographic analysis.

This article discusses the role of alloying in the production and use of titanium. It explains how alloying elements affect transformation temperatures, tensile and creep strength, elasticity, hardness, and corrosion behaviors. It provides composition and property data for commercial grades of titanium, addresses processing issues, and identifies operating environments where certain titanium alloys are susceptible to stress-corrosion cracking.

This chapter discusses the basic principles of alloying and their practical application in the production of titanium mill products and engineered parts. It begins with a review of the atomic and crystal structure of titanium and the conditions for interstitial and substitutional alloying. It then describes the different classes of alloying elements, their effect on mechanical properties and behaviors, and their influence on phase transitions and transformations. The chapter also discusses the role of intermetallic compounds and their effect on crystal structure and creep behavior.

Titanium alloys are classified according to the amount of alpha and beta phase material retained in their structures at room temperature. This chapter discusses the metallurgy, composition, processing, and properties of titanium and its alloys. It provides information on melting, forging, casting, heat treating, and secondary fabrication. It also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of titanium and its alloys in various applications.

This chapter covers the basic metallurgy of titanium, explaining how it influences the development of microstructure and the mechanical properties that can be achieved. It describes the nature of each of the four major phases of titanium, the effect of alloying elements on phase transformations, and the formation of secondary phases. The chapter presents and interprets a wide range of micrographs and includes several tables containing composition and tensile property data for many titanium alloys.