Automated electron backscatter diffraction pattern (EBSP) measurements were conducted in an attempt to relate low cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior to underlying microtexture in alpha-beta forged and heat treated Ti-6242 materials. Conventional load control, R=0 LCF tests were conducted with two wave forms, 30 cycles per minute (30 cpm), and 2 minute hold at peak stress, (dwell). The fracture surfaces and adjacent microstructures of the LCF specimens were examined using light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and orientation imaging using automated EBSP.

Fracture surfaces of dwell LCF specimens frequently contained large macroscopically flat, shiny facets, while 30 cpm specimens showed no such evidence of facets. Additionally, the dwell LCF specimens that contained facets had very low lives, typically around 1000 cycles at 126 ksi maximum stress. EBSP measurements directly on the facets, and on cross-sections through the facets revealed that the facet fracture plane was on, or close to (0001) of the primary alpha grains, Fig. 1, and was approximately perpendicular to the stress axis.