Effect of rolling and annealing on microstructures and mechanical properties of V-Ti-Ni alloy for hydrogen separation

The effect of rolling and annealing on microstructures and mechanical properties of V-Ti-Ni alloy for hydrogen separation has been investigated in this work. The rollability of the heat treated alloy is better than that of the as-cast alloy. The microstructure resulting from different processing conditions has a significant influence on hardness. Rolling formed anisotropic microstructures and preferential orientation and resulted in dislocation and hardness increasing. Annealing at elevated temperature can reduce hardness, and eliminate the anisotropic microstructure and reduce dislocation caused by rolling deformation, is positive for hydrogen permeability. The present work has illustrated that rolling and the subsequent annealing may be effective and useful for the fabricating of the high hydrogen flux and permeability V-Ti-Ni alloy membranes.