Microstructure characterization and formability assessment of electron beam welded Nb-10Hf-1Ti (wt.%) refractory alloy sheets

Formability study on welded blanks of Nb-based refractory alloy C-103 (Nb-10Hf-1Ti (wt.%)) has tremendous potential for utilizing smaller sheets for realization of large-size divergent portions of upper-stage liquid engine nozzle of satellite launch vehicles and thrusters of attitude orbital control systems. In this work, vacuum-annealed monolithic C-103 sheets were electron beam welded successfully to obtain defect-free welds and detailed microstructural and mechanical characterizations were investigated. Columnar epitaxial grains were found in fusion zone (FZ) instead of equiaxed grains in base metal (BM). Detailed SEM and HRTEM analyses revealed spherical shape of nano-sized HfO₂ precipitates with monoclinic crystal structure in the C-103 sheet. Further, microhardness across the weld cross-section indicated that the FZ had a uniform and maximum hardness of ∼195 HV_0.5 due to formation of finer nano-sized HfO₂ precipitates with higher number density, followed by a lowering of hardness in a narrow heat-affected zone. A marginal reduction in tensile strength of ∼6% with a considerable decrease in ductility of ∼29% was noticed for the welded sample. However, fracture occurred in the BM region, indicating good weld integrity. Furthermore, formability of the welded blanks was evaluated in terms of limiting dome height (LDH), forming limit diagram, and deep drawn cup depth. The effect of the presence of WZ on the formability of the C-103 sheet was estimated under uniaxial, plane strain, and biaxial tensile strain paths for the first time, and the results were compared with the monolithic sample. It was noted that the failure limit of the welded specimens decreased compared to that of the monolithic sample, resulting in a lower LDH of approximately 69% and 62% when deformed along plane strain and biaxial tensile strain paths, respectively. However, a marginal variation in LDH was observed for the uniaxial strain path. Also, the welded blank had more resistance to material flow into the die cavity due to the harder weld region, resulting in a reduction of deep drawn cup depth by 52% than that of the monolithic blank. The overall results concluded that the presence of the WZ significantly affected the formability of the C-103 sheet, especially in plane strain and biaxial strain paths. However, the fracture was never found to be propagating along the weld line, indicating the ability of the weld to sustain large plastic strains. This study provides insightful information on the formability of electron beam welded C-103 sheets for the successful fabrication of space components.