Patent ID: 6387197
Filing Date: 2002-05-14
Classification: C22F

Abstract:
A method for processing titanium into a titanium article, in which the titanium exhibits enhanced ultrasonic inspection results for determining its acceptability in microstructurally sensitive titanium applications, the method for processing titanium comprising:providing titanium at a temperature above its &bgr;-transus temperature; quenching the titanium from a temperature above the &bgr;-transus temperature to form a microstructure in the titanium comprising an &agr;-plate phase having a hexagonal close packed crystal structure, where the &agr;-plates have thicknesses of less than 10 &mgr;m; and deforming the quenched titanium into a titanium article, wherein the step of deforming the quenched titanium transforms the &agr;-plate microstructure into discontinuous-randomly textured &agr; particles without colonies, wherein the discontinuous-randomly textured &agr; particles without colonies lead to a reduction in ultrasonic noise during ultrasonic inspection.