Effects of Stress-Relief Annealing on the Residual Stress and the Microstructure of TA15 Welded Joint

The effects of stress-relief annealing on the distribution of residual stress and on the microstructure of TA15 (Ti-6.5Al-2Zr-1Mo-1V) alloy joints by electron beam welding (EBW) were investigated. The results indicated that the microstructure of welded joint presented a transitional change, i.e. basket-weave structure appeared in the fusion zone while equiaxed α structure in base metal. No significant change occurred in microstructure after annealing at 650°C for 2 h. The residual stress in fusion zone was mainly tensile stress and the maximum longitudinal stress value was 473MPa. After annealing, the residual stress near the welded joint exhibited a uniform distribution and the maximum stress droped to 150 MPa. The yield stress and tensile stress of the TA15 welding zone were 1016 MPa and 1100 MPa respectively.