Papers by Author: Thomas Schmoelzer

Abstract: Intermetallic TiAl alloys are a class of innovative high-temperature materials which are developed to replace the substantially denser Ni-base alloys in low-pressure turbine blades of jet engines. By streamlining the production process of these parts, a substantial decrease in production costs can be achieved. To this end, a profound knowledge of the microstructural processes occurring during hot deformation is a prerequisite. To investigate the microstructural development during forming operations, cast and extruded as well as only cast specimens were hot-deformed and the microstructural development investigated in-situ by means of a novel diffraction method. This powder diffraction method utilizes the behavior of individual reflection spots on the Debye-Scherrer rings for deriving the materials response to the deformation imposed. It was found that the behavior of the two specimens is rather similar, although the starting microstructures show pronounced differences.

Abstract: Intermetallic TiAl alloys with a significant volume fraction of the body-centered cubic β-phase at elevated temperatures have proven to exhibit good processing characteristics during hot-working. Being a strong β stabilizer, Mo has gained importance as an alloying element for so-called β/γ-TiAl alloys. Unfortunately, the effect of Mo on the appearing phases and their temperature dependence is not well known. In this work, two sections of the Ti-Al-Mo ternary phase diagram derived from experimental data are shown. These diagrams are compared with the results of in-situ high-temperature diffraction experiments using high-energy synchrotron radiation.