Strain mapping in fine scale multivariant α structures in titanium alloys

High-strength metastable β alloys typically contain sub-micron scale distributions of the α phase in a matrix of β grains. An understanding of plasticity in such microstructures is limited. We describe here techniques to deposit, at room temperature, patterns of Au nanoparticles for digital image correlation, which are consistent with the scale of the structure. The alloy Ti 5553 has been aged to different volume fractions of the α phase and strained in compression to demonstrate the efficacy of this DIC technique. The data is complemented with electron back scattered diffraction to correlate the microstruture with the plastic strain distribution, and preliminary analysis of strain partitioning between the two phases.