Titanium substrates were subjected to severe plastic deformation using surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) in a high energy ball mill. Mechanical treatments influence the microstructure and mechanical behaviour of the Ti-surface. Moreover, partial amorphization takes place concurrently in the surface region. Successive subdivision and amorphization finally results in the formation of well separated nanocrystalline and amorphous phases in the near surface. Surface mechanically treated Ti-substrates were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The average grain size of the nanocrystallites is about 200nm after 10 min of SMAT, and about 18nm after 20 min. The microhardness of the mechanically treated Ti-surfaces is improved as a result of surface nanocrystallization. However, corrosion resistance of SMAT samples decreases significantly compared to untreated Ti substrates. Contamination with Fe and Cr were observed at the Ti-surface after SMAT. These particles could play an important role in material strengthening and amorphization process.
KEY WORDSTitanium; surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT); high energy ball mill.