Quantification of microstructural features in α/β titanium alloys

Mechanical properties of α/β Ti alloys are closely related to their microstructure. The complexity of the microstructural features involved makes it rather difficult to develop models for predicting properties of these alloys. Developing predictive rules-based models for α/β Ti alloys requires a huge database consisting of quantified microstructural data. This in turn requires the development of rigorous stereological procedures capable of quantifying the various microstructural features of interest imaged using optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs. In the present paper, rigorous stereological procedures have been developed for quantifying four important microstructural features in these alloys: thickness of Widmanstätten α laths, colony scale factor, prior β grain size, and volume fraction of Widmanstätten α laths.