Enthalpy and Temperature of the Titanium Alpha-Beta Phase Transformation

The specific enthalpy and the temperature of the titanium a-b phase transformation were measured by a pulse-heating system operating in the millisecond time regime. The measurement technique is based on self-heating of a tube-shaped specimen from room temperature to the beta phase of titanium. A comparison between the measured phase transition temperature during heating and cooling of the specimen shows a difference of approximately 20 K. The temperature measured during the heating period is higher than the value obtained from the cooling cycle of the specimen. For the evaluation of the specific enthalpy of the alpha-beta transformation, the specific enthalpy versus temperature function of the beta phase of the heating period was extrapolated to the transition temperature obtained from the cooling cycle (1152 K). A total of 12 measurements on 3 tube-shaped specimens was made, an average value of 89.9 kJ ·kg−1 was obtained for the specific enthalpy of the transformation. The reproducibility of the measured specific enthalpy at the beginning and at the end of the transformation was 0.5%. The reproducibility of the phase transformation enthalpy as difference between the beginning and the end was 3%. The extended measurement uncertainty (at a confidence level of 95%) is estimated to be ±6% for the specific enthalpy of the transformation and ±6 K for the transformation temperature