High pressure torsion of pure Ti: Effect of pressure and strain on allotropy

High-pressure torsion (HPT) was conducted on commercial grade pure titanium (99.4%) by applying pressures in a wide range from 1.2 to 40 GPa. When the microhardness was plotted against equivalent strain, the hardness saturates to a constant level at each applied pressure. Such a level at the saturation depends on the applied pressure: for up to the pressure of 4 GPa, the saturation level is independent of the pressure but, for the pressures above 4 GPa, the hardness gradually increases with pressure because of the formation of an w phase. Bending tests showed that an excellent ductility as well as high bending strength was achieved for the sample processed at 2 GPa. The bending ductility was reduced for the sample at 6 GPa because of the ω phase formation.