Microscopic deformation of thin sheet of polycrystalline pure titanium under tension

Commercial pure titanium has been widely used in aerospace, chemical, and biomedical industries for its lightweight, high corrosion resistance, high strength, high heat resistance and good biocompatible properties. The market of pure titanium thin sheets is expected to increase in medical, dental, civil engineering, and acoustical engineering fields. On the other hand, pure titanium takes hexagonal closed-pack structure with anisotropic elasticity and plasticity. Inhomogeneous microscopic deformation always occurs by mechanical loading from the elastic condition. The inhomogeneity brings about various damages such as localized plastic deformation, microcracking, necking, and so on. Since the inhomogeneity is significant in thin sheets, it is important to investigate its deformation behavior. In this study, a tensile test was carried out using a thin sheet specimen of polycrystalline pure titanium, and the microscopic deformation of grains was measured by the digital holographic microscope. During the test, the height distribution of grains was measured in a fixed area on the front and back surfaces of the specimen at each tensile load step and the results at different load steps were compared. It was found from the measurement results that inhomogeneous deformation began at the small load due to anisotropic elasticity of crystal grains and expanded with the load by their anisotropic plasticity. Grain heights at grain center and those along grain boundaries were related with each other, and the grain heights on the front surface were inversely correlated with those on the back surface.