Grain Growth in the Heat-Affected Zone of Ti-6Al-4V Welds

S. Mishra and T. DebRoy, The Pennsylvania State University

Introduction
The presence of large beta () grains in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of
Ti-6Al-4V welds significantly lowers weldment strength. Experimental
determination of the evolution of grain structure is difficult. Modeling of grain
growth in the HAZ using analytical calculations often involves unrealistic
assumptions. For example, the assumption of idealized spherical grains violates
the fundamental topological requirement of shared grain boundaries between
neighboring grains in a dense crystalline solid. Furthermore, analytical equations
often preclude topological features of grains.
In recent years heat transfer and fluid flow calculations in the weld pool
have been used to obtain information about welding processes and welded
materials that could not be obtained otherwise. Here we show that transient
three dimensional temperature fields obtained from heat transfer and fluid flow
calculations can be used with recently developed Monte Carlo technique to
understand grain structure evolution in the HAZ. This approach is particularly
suitable for studying topological features of the grain structure and the kinetics of
grain growth under strong temperature gradients present in the HAZ. Here we
seek to demonstrate the usefulness of the numerical modeling approach to
develop a detailed understanding of the evolution of grain structure during GTA
welding of Ti-6Al-4V alloy.

Approach
A well-tested, three dimensional (3D), heat transfer and fluid flow model is
used to calculate the temperature field, geometry of the fusion zone (FZ) and the
thermal cycles in the Ti-6Al-4V weldment during GTA welding. The weld pool
geometry is compared with that obtained experimentally. Furthermore, the
calculated thermal cycles at each site are used in a 3D Monte Carlo (MC) model
to calculate grain growth kinetics and a grain structure map around the weld pool.
The MC model predictions of average grain size in various locations and various
topological features are then compared with the corresponding experimental
results. The kinetics of grain growth during welding of commercially pure titanium
is compared with that in Ti-6Al-4V for identical heat input experimentally and
theoretically.

1
Results and Conclusions
The evolution of the fusion zone geometry and grain structure in the HAZ of
Ti-6Al-4V alloy GTA welds was studied experimentally and theoretically. The
grain growth in the HAZ of Ti-6Al-4V alloy was compared with that in the
commercially pure titanium. The following are the main results and conclusions:

1. The experimentally determined fusion zone and HAZ geometry agreed

well with the corresponding values calculated from a 3D heat transfer and
fluid flow model for various values of heat input. The high values of
computed Peclet number for heat transfer indicated the need for
considering convective heat transfer in calculating both the weld pool
geometry and the thermal cycles in the Ti-6Al-4V weldments.
2. The experimental data as well as the calculated results showed that the
average grain size near the fusion plane was about four to twelve times
larger than that in the base plate depending on the heat input used. The
extent of grain growth was strongly dependent on the heat input.
3. The computed grain size for various heat inputs agreed well with the
corresponding experimental data. The results showed that the mean grain
size at locations equidistant from the fusion plane in the central vertical
plane were larger than those at the top surface. This behavior is
consistent with the local variations of thermal cycles at locations
equidistant from the fusion plane. Furthermore, the width of the HAZ in the
central vertical plane was higher than that near the top surface. Therefore,
the results of the two dimensional grain growth calculations need to be
reexamined.
4. Both the computed and the experimental results showed that the number
of edges of grains was proportional to the average grain size for the
particular edge class. The normalized average grain size distributions
were found to peak around a value of 1 showing that most of the grains at
a location had the average grain size just as found in isothermal grain
growth.
5. Both the calculated results and the experimental data showed that for
roughly identical welding conditions, the grain size in the HAZ of the alloy
was significantly smaller than that in the commercially pure titanium
because of the differences in the solidus and beta- transus temperatures
and other factors.