Evolution of microstructure and variations in mechanical properties accompanied with diffusionless isothermal ω transformation in β-titanium alloys

Diffusionless isothermal omega (DI-ω) transformation, which was recently defined in Phys. Rev. Materials
3, 043604 (2019), is classified into a third category of the ω transformation modes, other than the well-known
isothermal and athermal modes. This work reveals the characteristic features of the DI-ω transformation in the
β-titanium vanadium alloy system, specifically, focusing on variations in the microstructure and mechanical
properties with the proceeding of the DI-ω transformation. After quenching alloys of Ti-15at%V, Ti-21at%V,
and Ti-27at%V down to below room temperature from the β-stable temperature, in addition to the occurrence
of the athermal ω transformation for Ti-15at%V, all of the alloys gradually undergo the DI-ω transformation
upon aging at a temperature as low as 373 K, leading to a moderate increase in the hardness. The degree
of the hardness increase in these alloys can be successfully explained by a local instability concept based on
quenched-in thermal concentration fluctuations. It is also shown that internal friction (Ti-21at%V) diminishes
after the low-temperature aging, which indicates the annihilation of such unstable regions showing a dynamic
collapse of {111}β pairs to form a transient DI-ω phase. Comparison of inelastic x-ray scattering and ultrasound
measurements can see a trail of the DI-ω transformation remaining even in the Ti-27at%V alloy, which has no
obvious athermal omega transformation temperature. Based on the results, the difference between athermal ω
and DI-ω transformations is finally discussed.