LAUSR

Comparative studies of the effect of pulsed electron beam irradiation of the Ti–6Al–4V titanium alloys with the contents of hydrogen of 0.002 wt.% (VT6 alloy) and 0.23 wt.% (VT6–0.23H alloy) on their structure and peculiar creep behavior are performed at a temperature of 723 K within the range of creep rates 10–7–10–5 s–1. It is found out that irradiation of the VT6 and VT6–0.23H alloy samples with electron beams in the no-melting mode neither changes nor increases their steady-state creep. It is shown that formation of a modified surface layer during electron beam irradiation in the melting mode gives rise to a decrease in the steady-state creep rate in the VT6 alloy and its increase in the VT6–0.23H alloy. It is demonstrated that the dependence of the steady-state creep of the VT6 alloy on the stress before and after pulsed electron beam irradiation is satisfactorily described by the creep power law. The presence of hydrogen in a solid solution in the VT6–0.23H alloy violates the creep power law. The physical causes for the high values of a stress sensitivity index and an effective creep activation energy of the VT6 and VT6–0.23H alloys are discussed.