Investigation of the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of a TC6 alloy blade preform produced by cross wedge rolling

Cross wedge rolling (CWR) is one of the most effective plastic deformation methods utilized for the production of shaft parts or non-shaft preforms with refined grains and improved mechanical properties. The main goal of this work was to study the influence of CWR process parameters on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of a TC6 alloy and determine the suitable process parameters for a TC6 alloy blade preform fabricated with CWR. The results showed that the volume fraction of the equiaxed α phase ($$ f_{\alpha \_e} $$) decreased from ~ 0.38 to ~ 0.04 by increasing the initial deformation temperature, and the elongation (El) also decreased from ~ 19.6 to ~ 11.8% because dislocation slip first started in the equiaxed grains and then dispersed into the adjacent grains. Thus, additional equiaxed grains contributed to an increased plasticity. Moreover, with an increasing area reduction, the value of $$ f_{\alpha \_e} $$ increased from ~ 0.14 to ~ 0.31, and the grain refinement and microstructure uniformity also increased. In addition, the El was significantly reduced by over 50%, but the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and yield strength (YS) increased under WC (water cooling) conditions due to the precipitation of the acicular secondary α phase and pinning effect of the small equiaxed α phase. Based on the determined suitable parameters, the TC6 alloy blade preform was successfully manufactured by CWR, the microstructure was evenly distributed, and the UTS, YS and El were 1120.1 MPa, 1020.9 MPa and 15.2%, respectively, which meet the current technical requirements.