Effects of High-Energy Electro-Pulsing Treatment on Microstructure and Corrosion Behavior of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

The effect of electro-pulsing treatment (EPT) on the microstructure and corrosion behavior of cold-rolled Ti-6Al-4V alloy strips is investigated in this paper. It’s found that anti-corrosion property of titanium alloys is greatly improved with the help of EPT, which is demonstrated by the polarization test and surface observation with the beneficial effect of refining microstructure and forming a protective anatase-TiO₂ film on the materials surface. The rapid recrystallization process and oxide formation of the titanium alloy strip under EPT are attributed to the enhancement of nucleation rate, atomic diffusion and oxygen migration resulting from the coupling of the thermal and athermal effects. It’s a novel viewing angle of relationship among the electropulsing process, microstructure and corrosion behavior, which is facilitated in the future research and application of biomedical titanium alloys.