Homogeneity of Bulk Nanostructured Titanium Obtained by Hydrostatic Extrusion

The aim of this study was to investigate the homogeneity of the bulk nanocrystalline titanium rods obtained by Hydrostatic Extrusion (HE). The investigated material was commercially pure titanium grade 2. The final products of extrusion were nanocrystalline rods with diameters of 7 and 10 mm and lengths of about 250 mm. The size and shape of the grains were examined on transverse sections using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The grain size was determined by the average grain equivalent diameter d2. The grain size diversity was quantified in terms of the equivalent diameter coefficient of variation CV (d2). The samples for the microscopic analyses were cut from various regions of the rods i.e. top, end, centre, and from surface of the rods. In all the samples, the average grain size determined on transverse sections was about 70 nm and the nano-grains in the various regions of the rods were similar in the shape. The examinations demonstrated that the nanostructure of the extruded rods was homogeneous. This observation was confirmed by the results of microhardness measurements.