Alpha + beta type titanium alloy, process for producing titanium alloy, process for coil rolling, and process for producing cold-rolled coil of titanium alloy

Abstract

A high strength and ductility &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy, comprising at least one is isomorphous &bgr; stabilizing element in a Mo equivalence of 2.0-4.5 mass %, at least one eutectic &bgr;stabilizing element in an Fe equivalence of 0.3-2.0 mass %, Si in an amount of 0.1-1.5 mass %, and C in an amount of 0.01-0.15% mass, and has a &bgr; transformation temperature no lower than 940° C.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a high strength titanium alloy which has high strength, excellent weldability (i.e., ductility in heat affected zone (HAZ) after welding, the same meaning hereinafter) and good ductility to make the production of strips possible. The present invention relates to a titanium alloy coil-rolling process and a process for producing a coil-rolled titanium strip, in which the titanium is the above-mentioned titanium alloy.

[0003] 2. Related Art

[0004] Titanium and its alloys are light, and excellent in strength, toughness and corrosion-resistance. Recently, therefore, they have widely been made practicable in the fields of the aerospace industry, the chemical industry and the like. However, titanium alloys are materials which are generally not so good in workability, so that costs for forming and working are very high, as compared with other materials. For example, Ti—6Al—4V, a typical &agr;+&bgr; type alloy, is a material which is difficult to work at room temperature. Thus, it is said that the alloy can hardly be made into a coil by cold rolling.

[0005] For this reason, at the time of rolling the Ti—6Al—4V alloy into a sheet form, a manner called pack-rolling is adopted. That is, the pack-rolling is a manner of stacking Ti—6Al—4V alloy sheets obtained by hot rolling in the form of layers, putting the sheets into a box made of mild steel, and hot rolling the sheets packed into the box under heat-retention for keeping its temperature more than a given temperature to produce a thin plate. In this process, however, a mild steel cover for making a pack and pack welding are necessary. Moreover, in order to block bonding of titanium alloy strips themselves, a releasing agent must be applied. In such a manner, the pack-rolling process requires very troublesome works and great cost, as compared with cold rolling. Additionally, the temperature range suitable for hot rolling is limited, to cause many restrictions in working.

[0006] On the contrary, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 3-274238 and 3-166350 discloses that the contents of Al, V and Mo in the parent material of titanium are defined and at least one alloying element selected from Fe, Ni, Co and Cr is comprised therein in an appropriate amount, so that a titanium alloy can be obtained which has a strength substantially equal to that of the Ti—6Al—4V alloy and are superior to the Ti—6Al—4V alloy in superplasticity and hot workability.

[0007] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 7-54081 and 7-54083 disclose a titanium alloy in which the Al content is reduced up to a level of 1.0-4.5%, the V content is limited to 1.5-4.5%, the Mo content is limited to 0.1-2.5%, and optionally a small amount of Fe or Ni is comprised thereinto, thereby keeping high strength and raising cold workability and weldability (in particular, HAZ after welding).

[0008] This titanium alloy has both cold workability and high strength, and further has improved weldability, and thus is an excellent alloy. However, in these inventions, flow-stress during plastic deformation is suppressed because of the necessity of ensuring excellent cold workability. Thus, its strength is considerably low. If the strength is raised, its cold workability drops. For this reason, production of cold strips are substantially impossible. Incidentally, in recent years, customers I demands of high strength and high ductility to titanium alloys have been becoming more and more strict. Thus, titanium alloys are desired to be improved still more.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Paying attention to the above-mentioned situation, the inventors have made the present invention. The subject of the present invention is an &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy, and an object thereof is to provide an &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy having excellent strength and cold workability, and further having ductility making it possible to produce strips in coil. Another object of the present invention is to establish a continuous rolling technique based on coil-rolling by devising working conditions, and provide a process for obtaining a titanium alloy having excellent workability and strength by annealing after the coil-rolling.

[0010] The high strength and ductility &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy of the present invention for overcoming the above-mentioned problems comprises at least one isomorphous &bgr; stabilizing element in a Mo equivalence of 2.0-4.5 mass %, at least one eutectic &bgr; stabilizing element in an Fe equivalence of 0.3-2.0 mass %, and Si in an amount of 0.1-1.5 mass %. (Hereinafter, % means % mass unless specified otherwise.) In the titanium alloy, a preferred Al equivalence, including Al as an a stabilizing element, is more than 3% and less than 6.5%. If C is further comprised thereinto in an amount of 0.01-0.15%, the strength property of the alloy becomes more excellent. In addition, incorporation with a platinum group element improves corrosion resistance. It is important in view of rollability that the &bgr; transus (T&bgr;) should be no lower than 940° C.

[0011] The process for producing titanium alloy according to the present invention is characterized in that a hot-rolling method suitable for said titanium alloy is specified. The process consists of heating the titanium alloy at a temperature (T1) satisfying the following inequality [2] and then performing rolling.

[&bgr;-transus−20° C.−(770×C mass %)° C.]≦T1<&bgr;-transus  [2]

[0012] The rolling method according to the present invention is applicable to the continuous production of coil strip from the above-mentioned titanium alloy. It consists of annealing a titanium alloy plate or sheet at a temperature (T2) which satisfies the following equation [3] and then performing rolling to produce coiled strip.

[&bgr;-transus−270° C.]≦T2≦(&bgr;-transus−50° C.)  [3]

[0013] At the time of the coil-rolling, preferably the tension for the coil-rolling ranges from 49 to 392 MPa and the rolling ratio for the coil-rolling is 20% or more. If the coil-rolling is performed plural times in a manner that an annealing step in the &agr;+&bgr; temperature range intervenes therebetween, the total rolling reduction can be raised as the occasion demands. Thus, even a thin plate can easily be obtained.

[0014] Furthermore, the process for producing a titanium alloy strip according to the present invention is a process of specifying annealing suitable for cold-rolled strips after the cold-rolling of the above-mentioned &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy. The process is characterized by improving transverse elongation of a cold-rolled titanium strip by selecting a heating temperature at the time of annealing from temperatures which are not less than temperature for relieving work-hardening at the time of cold-rolling and are temperatures, in the range of temperatures not more than &bgr; transus (T&bgr;), for promptly avoiding temperature ranges causing brittleness resulting from the formation of brittle hexagonal crystal a, so as to perform the annealing.

[0015] The above-mentioned titanium alloy is used to perform the annealing, so as to easily obtain a titanium alloy strip having a tensile strength after the annealing of 900 MPa or more, an elongation of 4% or more, and [longitudinal (coil-rolling direction)]/[transverse (direction perpendicular to the coil-rolling direction) elongation]of 0.4-1.0.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG. 1 is a graph showing the relationship between 0.2% proof strength and elongation, after annealing in the &bgr; temperature range (corresponding to the properties in HAZ after welding).

[0017] FIG. 2 is a phase diagram of a titanium alloy.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the coil-rolling process of the present invention, referring to &agr; phase diagram.

[0019] FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between annealing temperature, and strength and elongation obtained in Experiment Examples.

[0020] FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between annealing temperature, and strength and elongation obtained in other Experiment Examples.

[0021] FIG. 6 is a view conceptually showing the relationship between annealing temperature and elongation that the inventors have ascertained.

[0022] FIG. 7 is a view showing the relationship of ductility of the transformed &bgr; phase (i.e., the a phase) in the titanium alloy, in the light of phase diagram in an &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy.

[0023] FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between 0.2% proof strength and elongation after annealing in the &agr;+&bgr; temperature range.

[0024] FIG. 9 is a graph showing the relation between tensile strength and the value of [Mo-equivalence+2.5×Fe-equivalence+40×0%].

[0025] FIG. 10 is a graphical representation of the results of the experiment example (large scale) showing the relation between the annealing temperature and the tensile strength and elongation in the transverse direction.

[0026] FIG. 11 is a graphical representation of the results of the experiment example (large scale) showing the relation between the annealing temperature and the tensile strength and elongation in the longitudinal direction.

[0027] FIG. 12 is a graphical representation of the results of the experiment example (large scale) showing the relation between the annealing temperature and the minimum bending radius.

[0028] FIG. 13A is a graph showing difference in ability to keep passive state between pure titanium and the titanium alloy of the present invention.

[0029] FIG. 13B is a graph showing difference in corrosion speed between pure titanium and the titanium alloy of the present invention.

[0030] FIG. 13C is a graph showing difference in resistance to crevice corrosion between pure titanium and the titanium alloy of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0031] The &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy of the present invention has a basic composition wherein the contents of isomorphous &bgr; stabilizing element and eutectic &bgr; stabilizing element are defined, and preferably Al equivalence including Al, which is an &agr; stabilizing element, is defined. The &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy is an alloy wherein an appropriate amount of Si is comprised into the basic composition and preferably an appropriate amount of C is comprised as another element thereinto, so as to give excellent strength property and cold workability, thereby having high strength and simultaneously making the production of coils possible. The following will describe reasons of defining the contained percentages of the above-mentioned respective elements.

[0032] At Least One Isomorphous &bgr; Stabilizing Element: Mo Equivalence of 2.0-4.5%:

[0033] The isomorphous &bgr; stabilizing elements such as Mo cause an increase in the volume fraction of the &bgr; phase, and is solved into the &bgr; phase to contribute to a rise in strength. Moreover, the isomorphous &bgr; stabilizing elements have a nature that they are solved into the parent material of titanium to produce fine equiaxial microstructure easily. They are useful elements from the standpoint of enhancing strength-ductility balance. In order to exhibit such effects of the isomorphous &bgr; stabilizing elements effectively, they should be comprised in an amount of 2.0% or more, and preferably 2.5% or more. However, if the amount is too large, ductility after &bgr; annealing decreases and further corrosion of the titanium alloy increases. Thus, it becomes difficult to remove TiO2 scales produced in the annealing after cold rolling and an oxygen-solved ground metal, called an &agr;-case, so that the workability falls. Additionally, the density of the whole of the titanium alloy is heightened to damage the property of a high specific strength which the titanium alloy originally has. Therefore, the above-mentioned amount should be 4.5% or less, and preferably 3.5% or less.

[0034] The most typical element among all isomorphous &bgr; stabilizing elements is Mo. However, V, Ta, Nb and the like have substantially the same effect as that of Mo. In the case wherein these elements are contained, the Mo equivalence [Mo+{fraction (1/1.5)}×V+⅕×Ta+{fraction (1/3.6)}×Nb] , including these elements, should be adjusted into the range of 2.0-4.5%. However, Nb and Ta are less effective in &bgr;-stabilization per unit amount added. Therefore, they should be added in a large amount to attain the same degree of stabilization; moreover, they are expensive. It is recommended that they are substituted with Mo and V. V is less expensive than Mo to achieve the same degree of &bgr;-stabilization. However, V added alone decreases the T&bgr; excessively. Consequently, the desirable amount is 1.0-3.0% for Mo and 1.0-2.0% for V.

[0035] At Least One Eutectic &bgr; Stabilizing Element: Fe Equivalence of 0.3-2.0%:

[0036] The eutectic &bgr; stabilizing elements such as Fe cause improvement in strength by addition of a small amount thereof. Moreover, they have the effect of improving hot workability. Furthermore, cold workability is enhanced, particularly when Mo and Fe coexist, but this reason is unclear at present. In order to exhibit such effects effectively, Fe should be contained in an amount of 0.3% or more, and preferably 0.4% or more. However, if the amount is too large, ductility after &bgr; annealing is greatly lowered and further segregation becomes remarkable at the time of ingot-making to reduce the stability of quality. The amount should be 2.0% or less and preferably 1.5% or less.

[0037] Cr, Ni, Co and the like have substantially the same effect as that of Fe. Thus, in the case that Cr and the like are contained, the Fe equivalence [Fe+½×Cr+½×Ni+{fraction (1/1.5)}×Co+{fraction (1/1.5)}×Mn], including these elements, should be adjusted into the range of 0.3-2.0%. However, it is recommended to replace all of them by Fe, because Fe is cheapest and Cr slightly decreases tensile strength. The minimum amount of Fe should preferably be 0.3% in view of the effect of improving hot-rollability and strengthening. The maximum amount of Fe should preferably be 1.0%, because Fe in an excessive amount causes remarkable segregation in the Vacuum arc remelting (VAR) process.

[0038] Al Equivalence: More than 3%, and Less than 6.5%

[0039] Al is an element which contributes, as an &agr;-stabilizing element, to the improvement in strength. If the Al content is 3% or less, the strength of the titanium alloy is insufficient. However, if the Al content is 6.5% or more, the limit cold-reduction is lowered so that it becomes difficult to make the alloy into a coil. Additionally, the cold workability as a coil product is also lowered so as to increase the number of cold working steps and annealing steps until the alloy is rolled up to a predetermined thickness. Thus, a rise in cost is caused. Considering the strength-cold workability balance, preferably the lower limit and the upper limit of the Al equivalence are 3.5% and 5.5%, respectively.

[0040] In the present invention, Sn and Zr also exhibit the effect as an a stabilizing element in the same way as Al. Therefore, in the case that these elements are contained, the Al equivalence [Al+⅓×Sn+⅙×Zr], including these elements, should be desirably adjusted into the range of more than 3% and less than 6.5%. However, in the case where Sn and Zr are contained as the a-stabilizing elements of Al equivalence, it is recommended to replace all of them by Al because they have an adverse effect on cold-rollability.

[0041] Typical examples of preferable &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloys satisfying the requirement of the above-mentioned composition used as a base titanium alloy in the present invention includes Ti—(4-5%)Al—(1.5-3%)Mo—(1-2%)V—(0.3-2.0%)Fe, in particular Ti—4.5%Al—2%Mo—1-6%V—0.5%Fe.

[0042] Si: 0.1-1.5%

[0043] The &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy having the basic composition that satisfies the content requirements of the isomorphous p stabilizing element, the eutectic &bgr; stabilizing element, and the Al equivalence has an excellent cold workability exhibiting a limit cold-reduction of about 40% or more. Thus, the alloy can be made into a coil. However, its strength property and weldability are not necessarily sufficient. The alloy cannot meet the recent demand of enhancing strength.

[0044] However, it has been ascertained that if Si is contained in an amount of 0.1-1.5% into the &agr;+&bgr; type alloy of the above-mentioned basic composition, it is possible to heighten remarkably the strength property and the property (strength and ductility) in HAZ after welding, as a titanium alloy, without lowering ductility necessary for making the alloy into a coil.

[0045] In other words, Si has an effect of raising the strength property in the state that Si hardly has a bad influence on cold-reduction of the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy. Furthermore, Si exhibits an effect of raising the strength and ductility in HAZ after welding. By such addition of an appropriate amount of Si, it is possible to obtain an alloy wherein the strength and ductility of the titanium alloy parent material are raised still more and further the HAZ after welding have strength and ductility of a high level.

[0046] In order to exhibit such effects of Si more effectively, it is necessary that Si is contained in an amount within a very restrictive range of 0.1-1.5%. If the Si content is insufficient, the strength tends to be short. Moreover, the effect of the improvement in the strength-ductility balance of the welded zone also becomes insufficient. On the other hand, if the Si content is more than 1.5%, the cold-reduction becomes poor so that a coil cannot easily be produced. Considering the above-mentioned advantages and disadvantages of Si, preferably the lower limit and the upper limit of the Si content are 0.2% and 1.0%, respectively. The more preferable upper limit of Si is 0.5%, because Si in excess of 0.5% suffers from poor cold-rollability.

[0047] Si in an Amount up to 0.5% Greatly Improves Cold-Rollability.

[0048] C: 0.01-0.15%

[0049] Carbon (C) has an effect of enhancing the strength property of the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy still more while keeping excellent ductility thereof, and an effect of enhancing the strength in HAZ after welding remarkably with a little drop in the ductility thereof. Such effects of the addition of C make the strength and the ductility of the titanium alloy parent material far higher, and also makes the strength and the ductility of the HAZ even higher. Also, C is an essential element to raise the &bgr;-transus above 940° C. so that the hot-rolling temperature is set up as high as possible.

[0050] In order to exhibit such effects of C more effectively, it is necessary that C is contained in an amount within a very restrictive range of 0.01-0.15%. If the C content is insufficient, the strength is insufficient, the increase of &bgr;-transus is also insufficient. On the other hand, if the C content is over 0.15%, cold-reduction is damaged by remarkable precipitation-hardening of carbides such as TiC to block coil-rolling. Considering such advantages and disadvantages of C, preferably the lower limit and the upper limit of the C content are 0.02% and 0-12%, respectively.

[0051] In the present invention, if a small amount of 0 (oxygen) is comprised thereto, as well as Si and C, the strength can be raised still more in the state that the oxygen hardly has a bad influence on coil-formation of the titanium alloy and its ductility. Thus, it is preferable for oxygen to be comprised. Such an effect of oxygen is exhibited by its very small amount. In order to exhibit the effect more surely, oxygen is comprised in an amount of preferably about 0.07% or more, and more preferably about 0.1% or more. However, if the oxygen content is too large, the cold workability drops. Besides, the ductility also drops by an excessive rise in the strength. The oxygen content should be 0.25% or less and preferably 0.18% or less. Incidentally, a strip produced by unidirectional rolling has a decreased strength in the longitudinal direction due to anisotropy. For the strip to have a strength higher than 900 MPa in the longitudinal direction, it is necessary to take the effect of oxygen quantity into account. It is essential that the total amount of Mo-equivalence +2.5 x Fe-equivalence +40×0% should be higher than 7.0%. If the total amount exceeds 19%, the titanium alloy is so poor in ductility that it is incapable of rolling. As the total amount exceeds 16.2%, the titanium alloy begins to decrease in cold-rollability. Therefore, the upper limit is 19%, and the preferred upper limit is 16.2%.

[0052] Reasons why such effects and advantages as above are exhibited in the present invention by comprising an appropriate amount of Si, C plus such an amount of Si, or further an appropriate amount of oxygen into the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy as a base are not necessarily made clear, but the following reasons can be considered.

[0053] That is, the reason why the strength property can be improved without damaging the cold-reduction can be considered as follows. Although Si is solved into the &bgr; phase to contribute to the strength, Si is not a factor for reducing the ductility very much. Even if Si is comprised over its solubility limit, silicide is formed so that the concentration of Si in the P phase is kept not more than a given level. Therefore, if the Si content is controlled into the range that the ductility is not reduced by the excessive formation of silicide, the alloy keeps a high ductility and simultaneously has an improved strength property.

[0054] If Si is comprised in an appropriate amount, silicide formed in the &bgr; phase as described above causes the suppression of a phenomenon that the grain in the HAZ after welding is made coarse. Additionally, Ti is trapped by the precipitation of silicide so that the P phase is stabilized, or the retained &bgr; phase increases by the transformation-suppressing effect of solved Si. It appears that these effects are cooperated to improve weldability.

[0055] Carbon is solved into the a phase to contribute to the improvement in the strength, but does not become a factor for reducing the ductility of the a phase very much. In addition, if C is comprised over its solubility limit, a carbide is formed so that the concentration of C in the &agr; phase is kept not more than a certain level. Therefore, it appears that if the C content is controlled into the range that the ductility is not reduced by the excessive of carbide, the alloy keeps a high ductility and simultaneously has an improved strength property. Incidentally, Si and C produce the effect of enhancing the heat resistance of the titanium alloy in addition to the above-mentioned effects.

[0056] Furthermore, O is solved into both of the &agr; phase and the &bgr; phase (the solved amount is larger in the &agr; phase), to exhibit solution-hardening effect. However, if the solved amount becomes large in either phase, the ductility is reduced. Thus, the oxygen content should be controlled into a very small amount as described above.

[0057] &bgr;-transus Higher than 940° C.

[0058] In hot-rolling at a temperature (for &agr;+&bgr; region) lower than the &bgr;-transus, which is essential for the equiaxial structure, the titanium alloy is remarkably subject to edge cracking due to temperature drop that occurs as hot-rolling proceeds if the heating temperature is lower than 900° C. Edge cracking extremely lowers yields. On the other hand, the temperature of the heating furnace inevitably deviates about ±20° C. from the aimed value on account of limited control precision. Therefore, it is necessary that the lowest &bgr;-transus should be 940° C.

[0059] Small amounts of other elements than the above may be comprised as inevitable impurity elements into the titanium alloy of the present invention. However, so far as they do not hinder the property of the alloy of the present invention, these elements are allowable to be comprised. The titanium alloy may be incorporated with other elements than mentioned above so that it has additional characteristic properties without altering its original ones ascribed to the present invention. Examples of such elements include platinum group elements (such as Pb, Ru, Ir, and In, about 0.03-0.2%) which improve corrosion resistance, P (less than about 0.05%) which improves heat resistance, and N (less than about 0.03%) which improves strength.

[0060] Platinum Group Element: 0.03-0.2%

[0061] It is generally known that titanium improves in corrosion resistance by incorporation with a platinum group element. This also applies to the titanium alloy of the present invention. The titanium alloy incorporated with more than 0.05% of Ru (which is the cheapest among platinum group elements) is comparable to or better than pure titanium in corrosion resistance, without adverse effect by Ru on its hot-workability, cold-workability, and strength. This effect levels off when the amount of Ru exceeds 0.2%. The upper limit of the amount of Ru should preferably be 0.2%, more preferably less than 0.1%, because Ru is more expensive than common elements. Pt and Ir in a smaller amount are as effective as Ru in improving corrosion resistance.

[0062] The &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy of the present invention wherein the constituent elements are specified as above has a basic composition wherein the contents of the isomorphous &bgr; stabilizing element and the eutectic &bgr; stabilizing element are defined, and preferably Al equivalence is defined. The &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy is an alloy wherein an appropriate amount of Si is comprised into this basic composition or optionally an appropriate amount of C or O is comprised thereinto so as to have a high level strength property and simultaneously an excellent ductility making the production of coils possible, and further have an excellent weldability. Specifically, the alloy has a 0.2% proof strength after annealing in the &agr;+&bgr; temperature range of 813 MPa or more, a tensile strength of about 882 MPa or more, and a limit cold-reduction of 40% or more.

[0063] Even in the case of &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloys, if the alloys have a limit cold-reduction of less than 40%, at the time of producing the alloys continuously into coils the number of repeated cold rolling-annealing steps becomes large so that costs become unsuitable for the actual situation. In addition, recrystallized microstructure cannot easily be obtained, resulting in a problem that the transverse and longitudinal anisotropy as a strip material becomes larger. However, the alloy having a limit cold-reduction of 40% or more can be made into coils without any difficulty by a continuous method. Costs can be greatly reduced by the improvement in productivity.

[0064] The limit cold-reduction herein means a reduced ratio of a strip thickness in such a limit state that, after the step wherein a small crack is produced but the propagation of the crack stops at a certain level (for example, about 5 mm), the crack starts to propagate up to the surface of the strip, from an industrial standpoint.

[0065] Hot-rolling to produce coiled strips from the &agr;+&bgr; titanium alloy of the present invention should be carried out under the following conditions.

[0066] Prior to hot-rolling, the titanium alloy should be heated at a temperature (T1) which satisfies the following inequality [2] so that coiled strips with a minimum of edge cracking are produced in high yields.

[&bgr;-transus−20° C.−(770×Cmass %)° C.]<T1<&bgr;-transus  [2]

[0067] If the heating temperature is lower than [&bgr;-transus−20° C.−(770×C mass %)° C.], the titanium alloy suffers edge cracking remarkably due to temperature fall during hot-rolling. In actual tandem rolling with one heating stage from a slab (thicker than 100 mm, for example) into a 4-mm thick coiled sheet, serration-like edge cracking occurs in the lateral direction (longer than about 60 mm). Such edge cracks have to be trimmed away together with the uncracked portion (more than 20 mm wide); otherwise, the sheet is very likely to break in the cold-rolling step. By contrast, edge cracks will be smaller than 30 mm at the most if the heating temperature is higher than [&bgr;-transus−20° C.−(770×C mass %)° C.]. In this case, trimming up to 10 mm beyond edge cracks is enough to greatly reduce the possibility of breaking in the course of cold rolling. The higher is the heating temperature, the more decreases the depth of edge cracks. However, heating at a temperature above the &bgr;-transus brings about rapid oxidation and transfer from the equiaxial structure into the acicular structure, thereby making the sheet liable to surface cracking and internal cracking in the course of cold rolling. Therefore, the heating temperature should be lower than the &bgr;-transus. Moreover, the heating temperature should preferably be lower than &bgr;-transus minus 10° C. in consideration of the fact that the &bgr;-transus varies from one place to another due to macroscopic segregation. In this way it is possible to produce in very high yields the desired titanium alloy sheet without edge cracking.

[0068] Incidentally, in the present invention, a high level strength property can be kept and simultaneously an excellent cold-reduction making the production of coils possible can be ensured by specifying the basic composition of the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy and simultaneously specifying the Si content, or further the C or O content as described above. From further investigations on requirements for surer assurance of the strength property in HAZ after welding of such titanium alloys, it has been ascertained that the alloy wherein the relationship between the 0.2% proof strength (YS) and the elongation (EL) satisfies the following inequality [5] is good in the strength-elongation balance in the HAZ after welding and stably exhibits a high weldability. This matter will be in detailed described, referring to FIG. 1, in Examples described later.

6.9×(YS−835)+245×(El−8.2)≧0  [5]

[0069] The following will describe a coil-rolling process for producing the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy of the present invention efficiently and continuously.

[0070] At the time of coil-rolling the above-mentioned titanium alloy, a strip of the titanium alloy is annealed at the temperature [T2] satisfying the inequality [3] below, and then coil-rolled to produce coils efficiently and continuously. Furthermore, at the time of the coil-rolling, it is preferred to adjust the tension into the range of 49-392 MPa and set a rolling ratio to 20% or more. If the coil-rolling is performed plural times in a manner that an annealing step in the &agr;+&bgr; Temperature range intervenes therebetween, the total rolling reduction can be heightened as the occasion demands. Even a thin plate can easily be obtained.

(&bgr; transus−270° C.)≦T2≦(&bgr; transus−50° C.)  [3]

[0071] The heat treatment conditions are very important requirements for performing the coil-rolling easily.

[0072] That is, the criterion of the microstructure which controls mechanical properties of titanium alloys is phase diagram as shown in FIG. 2. (Its vertical axis represents temperature, and its horizontal axis represents the amount of &bgr;-stabilizing elements.) As the contained percentage of the &bgr; stabilizing elements in the titanium alloy increases, the &bgr; transus drops in the form of a parabola. Therefore, at the time of heat-treating titanium alloys, their microstructure varies remarkably dependently on whether the heat temperature is set up to a higher temperature than the &bgr; transus of the respective alloys, or a lower temperature than it.

[0073] The inventors paid attention to the &bgr; transus of titanium alloys and the change in their microstructure by heat treatment temperature, and considered that, concerning the &agr;+&bgr; type alloy of the present invention, a microstructure suitable for cold rolling would be obtained by setting appropriate heat treatment conditions. Thus, the inventors have been researching from various standpoints. As a result thereof, it has been found that if the titanium alloy strip having the composition according to the present invention is subjected to annealing at a temperature (T2) satisfying the following inequality [3], its microstructure can be made up to a microstructure comprising &agr; phase+metastable &bgr; phase or orthorhombic martensite (acc) and having a very high ductility so that coil-rolling can easily be performed.

(&bgr; transus−270° C.)≦T2≦(&bgr; transus−50° C.)  [3]

[0074] As described in, for example, “METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A, VOLUME 10A, JANUARY 1979, P. 132-134“, the &bgr; transus of Ti alloys which are objects of coil-rolling can be obtained from, for example, the following equation [6], which is well known as a calculating equation of the &bgr; transus obtained from the amounts of alloying elements contained in the titanium alloys:

the &bgr; transus=872+23.4×Al %−7.7×Mo %−12.4×v %−14.3×Cr %−8.4×Fe %  [6]

[0075] Referring to a phase diagram of FIG. 3, reasons for setting the annealing temperature conditions for which the &bgr; transus is an index will be made clear in the following.

[0076] In connection with FIG. 3, the inventors ascertained the following in the case of annealing &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy A. When annealing temperature (T2) is set within the range “(&bgr; transus−270° C.)−(&bgr; transus−50° C.)”, the obtained microstructure becomes a structure comprising primary &agr; phase+metcastable &bgr; phase or orthorhmbic martensite (&agr;”) and having a very high ductility so as to have an excellent workability making satisfactory cold rolling possible. On. the other hand, in the low temperature range wherein the annealing temperature (T2) does not reach (&bgr; transus−270° C.), the microstructure of the alloy becomes an age-hardened microstructure wherein the a phase is finely precipitated in the &bgr; matrix. Thus, its ductility becomes poor so that its workability deteriorates extremely. On the contrary, in the temperature range wherein the annealing temperature (T2) is from (the &bgr; transus−50° C.) to the &bgr; transus, martensite (&agr;′) having a low ductility is produced in the metallic microstructure after annealing and cooling so that good workability cannot be obtained as well. When annealing is performed at a higher temperature than the &bgr; transus, &bgr; grains get coarse so that cold workability unfavorably decreases.

[0077] Based on the above-mentioned finding, a first characteristic of the coil-rolling process of the present invention is that the &agr;+&bgr; type alloy of the present invention is made up to have a high ductility microstructure comprising primary a phase +metastable p phase or orthorhombic martensite (&agr;″) by annealing the alloy within the temperature range of (&bgr; transus−270° C.)−(&bgr; transus−50° C.)”, so that the coil-rolling of the alloy is made easy. The time necessary for annealing within the temperature range is not especially limited. However, in order to make the whole of any treated titanium alloy strip into the microstructure, the time is preferably 3 minutes or more, and more preferably about 1 hour or more.

[0078] Conditions of coil-rolling performed after suitable annealing as described above are not especially limited. Concerning especially preferred conditions, however, tension is 49-392MPa, and rolling reduction is 20% or more.

[0079] Namely, in coil-rolling, tension is applied to a material to be rolled in its rolling directions in order to heighten rolling efficiency, and it is effective at the time of coil-rolling the above-mentioned &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy that the rolling tension is controlled into a suitable range. The rolling tensile strength herein means a value obtained by dividing the tension at the time of the rolling by the sectional area of the titanium alloy strip, and is generated by a winding reel for coils arranged before and after a rolling roll. That is, if the rolling tension is changed, the tension for winding coils during the rolling and after the rolling can also be changed accordingly.

[0080] The &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy of the present invention has a higher strength and lower Young s modulus than pure titanium so that spring-back is liable to arise. Thus, if the rolling tensile strength is low, winding of coils easily gets loose so that production efficiency is reduced and further scratches are easily generated between layers of the strip by the loose winding. Thus, the yield of products tends to be reduced. For such a reason, the rolling tension is set to 49 MPa or more, and preferably 98MPa or more.

[0081] Incidentally, in the above-mentioned &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy having a higher strength than pure titanium and equiaxial microstructure, in particular fracture resistance is low so that crack propagation arises easily. Thus, it is feared that coil failure arises from a small edge crack produced in the rolling, as a starting point. Therefore, in order not to promote the outbreak of edge cracks and the propagation thereof, the rolling tension is set up to 392 MPa or less, and preferably 343 MPa or less.

[0082] The rolling reduction is set up to about 20% or more and preferably about 30% or more. This is because a rolling reduction of less than 20% is disadvantageous for the improvement in productivity and makes it impossible to give plastic strain necessary and sufficient for making the alloy up to equiaxial microstructure in the annealing step after the rolling. If the alloy is not made up to the equiaxial microstructure, the strength-ductility balance falls. Thus, such a case is unfavorable for the material property of the alloy. The upper limit of the rolling reduction varies in accordance with difference in the property of particular alloys. The upper limit is set up to about 80% or less, and preferably about 70% or less in order to prevent the increase in flow stress by work-hardening and the propagation of edge cracks.

[0083] In the above-mentioned coil-rolling, in the case of some rolling reduction, the alloy may be rolled up to a target thickness by only one coil rolling step after annealing. If the rolling reduction for one rolling step is excessively raised, there arises problems, for example, the increase in flow stress by work- hardening, and the propagation of edge cracks. Generally, therefore, in the rolling process, coil-rolling is stepwise performed in such a manner that plural annealing steps intervene in the rolling process. In order to raise the strength-ductility balance, it is effective that the &agr;+&bgr; titanium alloy is made up to fine equiaxial microstructure. In order to realize the equiaxial microstructure effectively, it is preferred that the rolling step under the above-mentioned suitable conditions is performed plural times in such a manner that an annealing step in the &agr;+&bgr; temperature range intervenes therebetween than rolling is performed one time at a large rolling reduction and then annealing is performed.

[0084] The following will describe a process for producing a cold-rolled strip, suitable for the &agr;+&bgr; type alloy of the present invention.

[0085] The inventors have succeeded in improving elongation of in particular the transverse direction (direction perpendicular to the cold coil-rolling direction) along which ductility is extremely reduced in the cold coil-rolling step, and heightening deformability while keeping a high strength by selecting such an annealing condition. The structural feature of the present invention and its effect and advantage will be described hereinafter, following details of experiments.

[0086] The inventors eagerly researched the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy making cold coil-rolling possible, according to the present invention, in order to make clear the influence on the ductility and the strength in the longitudinal direction (identical to the coil-rolling direction) and the transverse direction by annealing conditions after cold coil-rolling.

[0087] As a result, it was ascertained that as shown in attached FIGS. 4 and 5 (both in the case of small scale), proof strength and tensile strength are not affected very much by annealing temperature, but concerning in particular transverse elongation (along the transverse direction, a drop in ductility by cold coil-rolling becomes the most serious problem), specific tendency is exhibited in accordance with the annealing temperature. In short, in the above-mentioned alloy system, the transverse elongation shows a minimum value by some annealing temperature (about 850° C. in FIG. 4, and about 800° C. in FIG. 5). The transverse elongation tends to rise in all annealing temperature ranges above and below the above-mentioned temperature.

[0088] The inventors further pursued a reason why the above-mentioned specific tendency is exhibited, so as to make the following fact clear.

[0089] In general, annealing after cold coil-rolling is carried out to relieve work-hardening generated by the cold coil-rolling by recrystallization based on heating and recover the transverse ductility lowered mainly by the cold rolling. It is considered that such ductility-improving effect by recrystallization is improved still more as the annealing temperature is higher.

[0090] The alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 6 conceptually shows the relationship between annealing temperature and ductility that is generally recognized. In the low temperature range wherein the annealing temperature after cold rolling is about 600° C. or less, the effect of improving the transverse ductility is hardly recognized. When the annealing temperature is raised up to about 700° C. or more, the ductility is recovered to some extent. As the annealing temperature is raised thereafter, the recovery of the ductility advances. When the annealing temperature is raised to not less than the &bgr; transus (T&bgr;), complete recrystallization arises so that anisotropy is cancelled. Thus, it appears that the ductility is remarkably improved.

[0091] Concerning the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy of the present invention, however, the inventors examined the relationship between annealing temperature and elongation after cold coil-rolling by experimentally producing an ingot of small scale and using a cold-rolled sample. As a result, the following were ascertained. As shown by solid lines A and B in FIG. 6, in the range of the annealing temperature of about 800° C. or less, both of the longitudinal elongation (solid line A) and the transverse elongation (solid line B) are improved by the evolution of recovery of dislocation as the temperature rises. This fact is the same as the recognition in the prior art. When the annealing temperature is raised to more than about 800° C., the elongations drop abruptly. When the annealing temperature is further raised thereafter, the elongations again rise abruptly. Such a specific tendency is exhibited. It was ascertained that such a specific tendency is remarkably exhibited in the case of the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy of the present invention.

[0092] This tendency can be explained on the basis of phase diagram of the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy as shown in FIG. 7 and change in the microstructure of the titanium alloy. That is, FIG. 7 is a diagram (result from small scale) showing the relationship of the ductility of the transformed &bgr; phase (i.e., the a phase) in the titanium alloy, in the light of the phase diagram of the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy. The a phase wherein the amount of the stabilizing elements is relatively small has a hexagonal structure which is relatively excellent in ductility. On the other hand, as the amount of &bgr; stabilizing elements increases, brittle hexagonal crystal is produced at some amount as a borderline so that the ductility drops abruptly. When the amount of &bgr; stabilizing elements increases still more thereafter, an orthorhombic crystal having a relatively high ductility is formed. As a result, its yield stress and tensile strength drop but its ductility tends to rise again. In summary, the ductility of the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy varies considerably, dependently on the difference in the crystal structure resulting from the change in the amount of &bgr; stabilizing elements. It is important to prevent the emergence of the brittle hexagonal crystal which is generated just before the emergence of the orthorhombic crystal by controlling the alloy composition.

[0093] As is evident from the tendency shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the ductility of the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy after cold coil-rolling is not simply decided by the annealing temperature for recrystallization for relieving work-hardening. The ductility is remarkably affected by the crystal structure of the titanium alloy as well. As a result from a synergetic effect of these, the following is considered. Even in the case that the annealing temperature for recrystallization is raised as shown in FIG. 6, when the transformed &bgr; phase turns mainly into brittle hexagonal crystal, its ductility drops abruptly. After the time when the brittle hexagonal crystal structure turns into an ductile orthorhombic structure having a high ductility, the ductility of the alloy is abruptly recovered again by the evolution of recrystallization based on annealing.

[0094] As described above, the present invention is based on the verification of the fact that the ductility of the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy after cold coil-rolling is not simply decided by the annealing temperature for recrystallization for relieving work-hardening and the ductility is remarkably affected by the crystal structure of the titanium alloy as well. In short, the characteristic of the present invention is in that when work-hardening is relieved by annealing the cold coil-rolled &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy to raise the ductility, the annealing temperature is controlled to avoid temperature range causing the brittle phase production based on the emergence of the brittle hexagonal crystal as much as possible, thereby heightening the elongation surely to obtain excellent deformability.

[0095] At this time, as shown in region X in FIG. 7, even in the region wherein the alloy composition of the &bgr; phase causes the emergency of the brittle hexagonal crystal at the time of heating for annealing, if under the temperature not causing the emergency of the brittle hexagonal crystal the material is slowly cooled (for example, cooling in the furnace), the change in the microstructure of the titanium alloy changes along the &bgr; transus (T&bgr;) to suppress the emergency of the brittle hexagonal crystal. If its temperature range is avoided and usual cooling (for example, air cooling) is carried out, an annealed material having a high performance can be obtained.

[0096] Thus, the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy of the present invention obtained by avoiding the brittle range and being annealed as described above has a tensile strength of 900 MPa or more, and further has an elongation of 4% or more, and exhibits an anisotropy, that is, (longitudinal elongation)/(transverse elongation) of about 0.4-1.0 by great recovery of the transverse elongation. This makes it possible to obtain an annealed material having excellent deformability in the longitudinal and transverse directions.

[0097] Incidentally, FIG. 7 shows the relationship between annealing temperature and elongation at the time of annealing a cold-rolled strip comprising, for example, an &agr;+&bgr; type titaniumalloy of Ti—4.5%Al—2%Mo—1.6%V—0.5%Fe. As shown in FIG. 7, brittle hexagonal crystal makes its appearance at about 850° C. Therefore, when the cold coil-rolled titanium alloy having this composition is annealed, it is necessary that the annealing temperature is controlled out of the temperature which causes the brittle hexagonal crystal, preferably withinthe temperature range of 760-825° C. or 875-T&bgr;° C.

[0098] Even in the same &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloys of the present invention, their brittle hexagonal crystal production temperature range varies according to conditions such as composition, production scale of coil cold-rolled strip, and cooling rate.

[0099] For example, with attention given to the fact that coil cold-rolled strips produced from ingots of large quantities vary in ductility and strength in the longitudinal and transverse directions depending on how they are annealed after coil cold-rolling, researches were made into the effect of annealing conditions. The results are shown in FIGS. 10 to 13. It is noted that the annealing temperature (about 925° C. in FIG. 10) detrimental to elongation in the transverse direction tends to be higher than that in small-scale operation, and scarcely recognized. Although the result of strength and transverse elongation is slight different between large scale and small scale, the phenomenon of the change in the microstructure of titanium alloy during the annealing process is thought to be the same. The fact that the results in large scale differ from small scale is due to a difference in working conditions which arises from the production of ingots in large quantities, a difference in cooling rate of cold-rolled strips, and so on. As the result, it was found that annealing for the titanium alloy industrially produced in large quantities should be carried out at temperatures in the range of (&bgr;-transus−130° C.)≦T3≦(&bgr;-transus−15° C.) so that the resulting products have good bending properties.

[0100] Therefore, at the time of carrying out the present invention, it is preferred to make sure of this temperature range beforehand according to the conditions such as the scale of production of coil cold-rolled strips and then control annealing temperature to be out of this temperature range. And the titanium alloy industrially produced in large quantities should be carried out at temperatures in the range of (&bgr;-transus−130° C.)≦T3≦(&bgr;-transus−15° C.). In this way, an annealed material having a high strength and an improved transverse elongation can be surely obtained.

[0101] At this time, the annealing must be performed at the above-mentioned high rolling reduction for some kind of cold rolled product. In this case, however, softening annealing is performed one or plural times on the way of the rolling. Thus, while work-hardening is relieved, the titanium alloy is cold rolled into any thickness. In all case, the titanium alloy of the present invention has a higher elongation than conventional &agr;+&bgr; titanium alloys, so that it can be coil-rolled without the above-mentioned pack-rolling. The alloy keeps a high strength and simultaneously exhibits an excellent deformability by subsequent annealing.

[0102] The thus obtained &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy of the present invention can be made into coils for its excellent cold workability, and further can easily be manufactured into any form such as a wire, a rod or a tube regardless of the cold workability. The present alloy has both excellent strength property and ductility, and further has good weldability as described above, and its HAZ after welding has a high level ductility. For this reason, the present alloy can widely be used as applications which are subjected to welding until they are worked into final products, for example, a plate for a heat-exchanger, Ti golf driver head materials, welding tubes, various wires, rods, very fine wires.

EXAMPLES

[0103] The following will specifically describe the structural features, and effects and advantages of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited by the following Examples, and can be modified within the scope consistent with the subject manner of the present invention described above and below. All of them are included in the technical scope of the present invention.

Example 1

[0104] Titanium alloy ingots (60×130×260 mm) having the compositions shown in Table 1 were produced by button melting. The ingots were then heated to the &bgr; temperature range (about 110° C.), and rolled to break down into sample plates of 40 mm thickness. Subsequently, the plates were kept in the &bgr; temperature range (about 1100° C.) for 30 minutes and then air-cooled. The plates were then heated in the a +0 temperature range (900-920° C.) below the &bgr; transus and hot rolled to produce hot rolled plates of 4.5 mm thickness. Thereafter, the plates were again annealed in the &agr;+&bgr; temperature range (about 760° C.) for 30 minutes, and then their 0.2% proof strength, tensile strength and elongation were measured. Their test pieces were obtained by machining the surface of the sample plates into pieces having a gage length of 50 mm and a parallel portion width of 12.5 mm.

[0105] Next, test pieces for cold-rolling were subjected to shot-blasting and picking to remove oxygen-rich layers on the surfaces. These were used as cold rolling materials to continues to be cold rolled by a rolling reduction amount of about 0.2 mm per pass until cracks in the plate surfaces were introduced. Thus, their cold-reduction was measured. In order to measure their weldability, the respective sample plates were heated at 1000° C., which was not less than the &bgr; transus, for 5 minutes and then air-cooled, to examine tensile property in the state of acicular microstructure.

[0106] The results are collectively shown in Table 2. 1 TABLE 1 Mo Sym- equiv- Fe bol Alloy composition (the balance: Ti) alence equivalence A 3.5Mo-0.8Cr-4.5Al-0.3Si 3.5 0.4 B 3.5Mo-O.5Fe-0.8Cr-4.5Al-0.3Si 3.5 0.9 C 2.5Mo-1.6V-0.6Fe-4.5Al-0.15Si-0.04C 3.6 0.6 D 2.5Mo-1.6V-0.6Fe-4.5Al-0.45Si-0.04C 3.6 0.6 E 2.5Mo-1.6V-0.6Fe-4.5Al-1.0Si-0.04C 3.6 0.6 F 2.5Mo-1.6V-0.6Fe-4.5Al-0.3Si-0.08C 3.6 0.6 G 4.5Mo-0.8Cr-4.5Al-0.3Si 4.5 0.4 H 2.5Mo-1.6V-0.6Fe-4.5Al-0.3Si-0.12C 3.6 0.6 I 2.5Mo-1.6V-0.6Fe-4.0Al-0.3Si-0.04C 3.6 0.6 J 2.5Mo-1.6V-0.6Fe-5.0Al-0.3Si-0.04C 3.6 0.6 K 3.5Mo-0.5Fe-0.8Cr-4.5Al-0.3Si-0.05C 3.5 0.4 L 3.5Mo-0.5Fe-0.8Cr-4.5Al-0.3Si-0.1C 3.5 0.4 M 2Mo-1.6V-0.5Fe-4.5A1-0.3Si-0.03C 3.1 0.5 N 1Mo-1.6V-0.5Fe-4.5A1-0.3Si-0.03C 2.1 0.5 O 3.5Mo-0.8Cr-4.5A1 3.5 0.4 P 3.5Mo-0.5Fe-0.8Cr-4.5A1 3.5 0.5 Q 4.5Mo-0.8Cr-4.5A1 4.5 0.4 R 2.5Mo-1.6V-0.6Fe-4.5A1-0.04C 3.6 0.6 S 3.5Mo-0.5Fe-0.8Cr-3.0A1-0.3Si 3 0.9 T 2.5Mo-0.5Fe-0.8Cr-3.0Al-0.3Si 2.5 0.9 U 3.0Mo-0.5Fe-0.8Cr-3.0Al-0.3Si-0.05C 3.9 0.9 V 2.5Mo-1.6V-0.6Fe-4.5A1-1.5Si-0.04C 3.6 0.6 W 2.0Mo-1.6V-0.6Fe-6.5A1-0.3Si-0.04C 3.1 0.6 X 0.8Mo-1.6V-0.5Fe-4.5A1-0.3Si-0.03C 1.9 0.5 Y 3.5Mo-1.6V-0.5Fe-4.5A1-0.3Si-0.03C 4.6 0.5 Z 2Mo-1.6V-2.5Fe-4.5A1-0.3Si-0.03C 3.1 2.5

[0107] 2 TABLE 2 Tensile properties after &bgr; annealing (Acicular, corresponding to HAZ after welding) Tensile properties after &agr; + &bgr; annealing 0.2% Proof Tension 6.9 x (YS- 0.2% Proof Tension Cold reduction strength strength Elongation 835) + 245 × (El- strength strength Elongation Being made Symbol (MPa) (MPa) (%) 8.2) (MPa) (MPa) (%) into a coil Note A 835 1010 8.2 0 882 937 15.5 ◯ (possible) B 936 1112 7.7 763 875 941 15.7 ◯ C 1069 1250 3.8 538 822 900 19.2 ◯ D 1121 1342 4.3 1019 885 963 17.8 ◯ E 1191 1356 1.2 739 933 1061 12.8 ◯ F 1087 1298 4.5 831 893 959 20.7 ◯ C 994 1156 5.8 507 891 946 15.0 ◯ H 992 1221 3.8 4 925 984 16.9 ◯ I 1032 1223 6.2 869 815 912 17.9 ◯ J 1164 1365 2.9 973 932 999 19.4 ◯ K 1044 1215 3.6 313 940 992 19.0 ◯ L 1080 1298 1.3 0 1085 1131 18.4 ◯ M 827 907 8.5 19 857 916 192 ◯ N 814 885 9.1 78 821 894 19.5 ◯ O 775 974 10.1 53 785 861 22.6 ◯ Insufficient strength P 880 1024 6.3 −155 795 874 15.6 ◯ Insufficient strength and bad weldability Q 899 1039 4.9 −369 767 835 21.2 ◯ Insufficient strength and bad weldability R 1036 1249 1.3 −305 810 889 17.7 ◯ Insufficient strength and bad weldability S 751 920 11.5 227 652 781 16.5 ◯ Insufficient strength T 734 899 13.2 528 703 810 16.7 ◯ Insufficient strength U 1018 1238 3 −10 767 856 16.3 ◯ Insufficient strength and bad weldability V 1223 1373 0 5 791 983 1103 8.1 X (impossible) Bad cold-rollability W 1219 1429 0.3 715 975 1115 9.2 X Bad cold-rollability X 797 858 10.5 300 799 868 19.5 ◯ Insufficient strength Y 1081 1229 0.5 −190 1147 1179 18.9 ◯ Bad weldability Z 1099 1278 0 −190 1127 1229 17.4 ◯ Bad weldability

[0108] FIG. 1 shows, as a graph, the relationship between the 0.2% proof strength and the elongation after &bgr; annealing, which corresponds to the physical property in HAZ after welding, among the experimental data shown in Table 1.

[0109] In this graph, solid line Y is a line connecting the relationship points between 0.2% proof strength and elongation of other than comparative samples wherein their cold reduction was represented by “x” (limit cold reduction: less than 40%). Broken line X represents a relationship formula represented by 6.9×(YS-835)+245×(El−8.2).

[0110] As is evident from this graph, the solid line Y and the broken line X cross each other at a point of a 0.2% proof strength of 813 MPa. The inclination of the solid line Y (comparative samples) in the area having a higher proof strength than this proof strength is steeper than that of the broken line X. This graph proves that in the high proof strength area of the comparative samples, this elongation drops abruptly as the proof strength rises. On the other hand, in Examples of the present invention all of the relationship points between the proof strength and the elongation are positioned in the right and upper area relative to the broken line X. The drop in the elongation with the rise in the proof strength is relatively small. Thus, it can be ascertained that the samples of Examples had high strength and ductility.

[0111] FIG. 8 is a graph showing an arranged relationship between the 0.2% proof strength and the elongation after &agr;+&bgr; annealing. It can be understood from this graph that all of the comparative samples do not reach a proof strength of 813 MPa but all of the samples of Examples exhibit a proof strength more than this value, and the material of the present invention has a high strength and an excellent ductility.

Example 2

[0112] Titanium alloys having the compositions shown in Table 3 were produced in a melting state by vacuum arc melting and made into ingots (their diameter: 100 mm). The ingots were then heated to the &bgr; temperature range (about 1000-1050° C.), and rolled to break down into sample plates of 15 mm thickness. Subsequently, the plates were kept in the 13 temperature range (about 1000-1050° C.) for 30 minutes and then air-cooled. The plates were then heated in the a +13 temperature range (850° C.), which was not more than the &bgr; transus, and hot rolled to produce hot rolled plates of 5.7 mm thickness. Thereafter, the plates were again annealed in the &agr;+&bgr; temperature range (630-890° C.) for 5 minutes. Next, they were subjected to shot-blasting and pickling to remove oxygen-rich layers on the surfaces. These were used as cold rolling materials. In the cold coil-rolling, the rolling reduction amount was 0.2 mm per pass. In the rolling, tension was applied along the rolling direction to roll the plates up to a predetermined rolling reduction. After the rolling, the depth of edge cracks in the plates was measured. Thereafter, the plates were annealed in the &agr;+&bgr; temperature range and then were subjected to optical microstructure observation of their cross sections.

[0113] The results are shown in Table 4.

[0114] The difference in sectional microstructures was observed between the plates which were rolled one time up to a predetermined thickness and then annealed, and the plates which were rolled three times up to a predetermined thickness in a manner that annealing intervened therebetween on the way of the rolling process and then annealed. The results are shown in Table 5. 3 TABLE 3 &bgr; Al Mo V Fe Si O Ti transus 4.5 2.0 1.5 0.5 0.3 0.16 Balance 963° C. (mass %)

[0115] 4 TABLE 4 Rolling conditions Results Annealing Edge cracks Experi- Rolling Rolling temperature ⊚: less than 5 mm Structure Total judgement ment tension reduction before ◯: 5 mm-10 mm after ◯: Suitable No. (MPa) (%) rolling X: 10 mm or more annealing X: Unsuitable 1 147 50 760 ⊚ Equiaxial ◯ 2 294 50 760 ⊚ Equiaxial ◯ 3 98 50 760 ⊚ Equiaxial ◯ 4 343 50 760 ⊚ Equinxinl ◯ 5 294 30 760 ⊚ Equiaxial ◯ 6 294 70 760 ⊚ Equiaxial ◯ 7 294 50 820 ⊚ Equiaxial ◯ 8 294 50 700 ⊚ Equiaxial ◯ 9 294  40* 630 X Equiaxial X 10 294  30* 890 X Equiaxial X 11 441 50 760 X Equiaxial X 12 294 10 760 ⊚ Non- X equiaxial 13 294 85 760 X Equiaxial X *Rolling load exceeded for a 50% rolling reduction of a target. Thus, the rolling was stopped on the way.

[0116] 5 TABLE 5 Steps Total Structure Experiment Cold &agr; + &bgr; Cold &agr; + &bgr; Cold &agr; + &bgr; rolling after the final No. rolling 1 annealing Rolling 2 annealing Rolling 3 annealing ratio annealing 14 40% Performed 40% Performed 40% Performed   78.5% Fine equiaxial microstructure 15 80% Performed — — — — 80% Partial equiaxial microstructure

[0117] The following can be understood from Tables 3-5.

[0118] Experiments Nos. 1-8: Examples satisfying all of the requirements defined in the present invention. The microstructure of the annealing was uniformly equiaxial and had a few edge cracks, so as to be sufficiently suitable for practical use of coil-rolling.

[0119] Experiments Nos. 9 and 10: Comparative Examples wherein the temperature of the annealing before the rolling was out of the defined range. Edge cracks were generated before the arrival to a 50% rolling reduction which was a rolling target. Thus, the rolling was stopped when the rolling reduction was 40% or 30%. However, considerably large edge cracks were observed. It is difficult that the Comparative Examples were made practicable.

[0120] Experiment No. 11: Reference Example wherein a tension at the time of the rolling was raised up to 45%. The tension was too high, so that edge cracks were liable to be generated.

[0121] Experiment No. 12: Reference Example wherein the rolling ratio at the time of the rolling was set to a low value. The coil-rolling was able to be performed without any generation of large edge cracks. However, a part of the microstructure after the annealing became non-equiaxial. The strength-elongation balance was bad.

[0122] Experiment No. 13: Reference Example wherein the rolling reduction at the time of the rolling was raised up to 85%. Because the rolling reduction was excessively high, large edge cracks were observed.

[0123] Experiment No. 14: Example which was coil-rolled 3 times, the rolling reduction per rolling being 40%, in a manner that annealing intervened therebetween 2 times on the way. The microstructure after the final annealing was fine equiaxial, and a good coil which had no edge cracks and a good strength-elongation balance was obtained.

[0124] Experiment No. 15: Example in which substantially the same rolling as in Experiment No. 14 was performed by a single rolling step without any annealing on the way. A part of the microstructure after the annealing became non-equiaxial. The strength-elongation balance was slightly bad.

[0125] Experiment 3-1

[0126] A Ti alloy ingot (80 mmT×200 mmW×300 mmL) of Ti—2%Mo—1.6%V—0.5%Fe—4.5%Al—0.3%Si—0.03% C was produced by induction-skull melting, heated in the &bgr; temperature range (about 1100° C.) and then rolled to break down into sample plates of 40 mm thickness. Subsequently, the plates were kept in the &bgr; temperature range (about 1100° C.) for 30 minutes and then air-cooled. The plates were then hot rolled in the &agr;+&bgr; temperature range (900-920° C.), which was lower than the &bgr; transus to produce hot rolled plates of 4.5 mm thickness.

[0127] Next, the plates were annealed at 760° C. for 30 minutes, and then they were subjected to shot-blasting and pickling to prepare cold rolling materials. These were subjected to the treatment of [40% cold rolling+annealing at 760° C. for 5 minutes] two times to perform cold rolling up to a rolling reduction of 40%. Thereafter, annealing was performed under conditions shown in Table 6. The respective annealed products were pickled to remove oxygen rich layers on their surfaces. Their transverse and longitudinal 0.2% proof strength, tensile strength, and elongations were measured. The result are shown in Table 6 and FIG. 4. 6 TABLE 6 Ti-2Mo-1.6V-0.5Fe-4.5Al-0.3Si-0.03C Meas- Annealing ured 0.2% Proof Tensile tempera- direc- strength strength ture (° C.) tion (MPa) (MPa) Elongation (%) Example 760 L 982 1096 10.4 Com- 850 L 991 1202 7.8 parative Example Example 900 L 1028 1239 7.2 Example 760 T 1073 1144 4.6 Example 800 T 1082 1128 4.6 Example 825 T 1014 1087 5.6 Com- 850 T 1082 1198 2 parative Example Example 900 T 1085 1164 5.8 Example 925 T 1095 1182 7.8 Example 950 T 1027 1143 10.6

[0128] As is clear from Table 6 and FIG. 4, it was ascertained that in the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy of the component systems used in the present invention the transverse elongation (the elongation in the direction perpendicular to the rolling direction) decreased remarkably by the production of brittle hexagonal crystal in the annealing temperature range of about 850° C. Thus, it can be understood that if the alloy was annealed in the temperature range of 750-830° C. or 900-950° C., out of the above-mentioned annealing temperature range, an annealed product was obtained which kept high tensile strength and 0.2% proof strength, and had an excellent elongation.

[0129] Experiment 3-2

[0130] A Ti alloy ingot (80 MMT×200 mmW×300 mmL) of Ti—3.5%Mo—0.5%Fe—4.5%Al—0.3%Si was produced by induction-skull melting, and was heated in the &bgr; temperature range (about 1100 ° C. ) for 30 minutes and then rolled to break down into sample plates of 40 mm thickness. Subsequently, the plates were kept in the p temperature range (about 1100° C) and then air-cooled. The plates were then hot rolled in the &agr;+&bgr; temperature range (900-920° C.), which was lower than the &bgr; transus to produce hot rolled plates of 4.5 mm thickness.

[0131] Next, the plates were annealed at 760° C for 30 minutes, and then they were subjected to shot-blasting and pickling to prepare cold rolling materials. These were subjected to the treatment of [40% cold rolling +annealing at 760° C. for 5 minutes] two times to perform cold rolling up to a rolling reduction of 40%. Thereafter, annealing was performed under conditions shown in Table 1. The respective annealed products were pickled to remove oxygen rich layers on their surfaces. Their transverse and longitudinal 0.2% proof strength, tensile strength, and elongations were measured. The result are shown in Table 7 and FIG. 5. 7 TABLE 7 Ti-3.5Mo-0.5Fe-4.5Al-0.3Si Annealing 0.2% Proof Tensile temperature Measured strength strength Elongation (° C.) direction (MPa) (MPa) (%) Example 760 L 982 1096 10.4 Example 850 L 906 1125 7.8 Example 900 L 1051 1244 7.2 Example 760 T 1092 1142 5.2 Com- 800 T 1007 1059 2.4 parative Example Example 825 T 986 1077 5.6 Example 850 T 985 1103 6.4 Example 900 T 1058 1249 6

[0132] As is clear from Table 7 and FIG. 5, it was ascertained that in the &agr;+&bgr; type titanium alloy of the component systems used in the present invention the transverse elongation (the elongation in the direction perpendicular to the rolling direction) decreased remarkably by the production of brittle hexagonal crystal in the annealing temperature range of about 800° C. Thus, it can be understood that if the alloy was annealed in the temperature range of 760° C. or lower, or 820-950° C., out of the above-mentioned annealing temperature range, an annealed product was obtained which kept high tensile strength and 0.2% proof strength, and had an excellent elongation.

Example 4

[0133] A 5-ton ingot of titanium alloy having an aimed composition of Ti—2Mo—1.6V—0.5Fe—4.5Al—0.3Si—0.03C was prepared by the VAR process. The ingot was made into a 140-mm thick slab by forging and rolling in the beta phase. The slab was heated at 930±20° C. and then rolled down to a 4-mm thick sheet. The sheet underwent annealing and cold rolling repeatedly to give a 1.2-mm thick cold-rolled strip. The ingot has the chemical composition (in its top and bottom) as shown in Table 8, and the sheet has the tensile properties in the rolling direction (in the longitudinal direction) as shown in Table 8. Heat numbers in Table 8 having the same number of first four figures show that the titanium alloy is charged and made into the ingot at the same time. 8 TABLE 8 Heat No. Position Direction Mo V Fe Al Si C O N AT4790-1 T L 1.93 1.82 0.52 4.62 0.27 0.038 0.163 0.0044 AT4790-1 B L 2.09 1.33 0.48 4.07 0.27 0.03 0.156 0.0053 AT4790-2 T L 1.93 1.82 0.52 4.62 0.27 0.038 0.163 0.0044 AT4790-2 B L 2.09 1.33 0.48 4.07 0.27 0.03 0.156 0.0053 AT4962-3 T L 2.12 1.79 0.6 4.61 0.29 0.032 0.11 0.0048 AT4962-3 B L 2.25 1.41 0.52 4.29 0.3 0.028 0.13 0.0047 AT4962-4 T L 2.12 1.79 0.6 4.61 0.29 0.032 0.11 0.0048 AT4962-4 B L 2.25 1.41 0.52 4.29 0.3 0.028 0.13 0.0047 AT5038-3 T L 1.87 1.74 0.5 4.55 0.26 0.033 0.137 0.0046 AT5038-3 B L 2.12 1.62 0.51 4.63 0.27 0.034 0.141 0.0056 AT5038-4 T L 1.87 1.74 0.5 4.55 0.26 0.033 0.137 0.0046 AT5038-4 B L 2.12 1.62 0.51 4.63 0.27 0.034 0.141 0.0056 AT5066-1 T L 1.9 1.77 0.49 4.51 0.26 0.03 0.141 0.0041 AT5066-1 B L 2.12 1.52 0.48 4.38 0.26 0.03 0.143 0.0035 AT5066-2 T L 1.9 1.77 0.49 4.51 0.26 0.03 0.141 0.0041 AT5066-2 B L 2.12 1.52 0.48 4.38 0.26 0.03 0.143 0.0035 AT5199 T L 1.87 1.64 0.51 4.35 0.27 0.032 0.098 0.0048 AT5199 B L 2.11 1.51 0.46 4.47 0.23 0.032 0.119 0.0066 0.2% Proof Tensile Mo eq + Strength/ Strength/ Elongation/ Mo eq + 2.5 × Fe eq + Heat No. H MPa MPa % 2.5 × Fe eq 0 × 40 AT4790-1 0.0053 916 994 11 4.44 10.98 AT4790-1 0.0056 955 1030 10 4.18 10.42 AT4790-2 0.0053 916 994 11 4.44 10.96 AT4790-2 0.0056 955 1030 10 4.18 10.42 AT4962-3 0.0062 918 1000 11 4.81 9.21 AT4962-3 0.006 897 981  9 4.49 9.69 AT4962-4 0.006 923 1011 10 4.81 9.21 AT4962-4 0.006 923 1010 10 4.49 9.69 AT5038-3 0.0073 896 973 10 4.28 9.76 AT5038-3 0.0076 900 977 10 4.48 10.12 AT5038-4 0.0074 884 966 10 4.28 9.76 AT5038-4 0.0086 898 977 11 4.48 10.12 AT5066-1 0.0079 907 1001 10 4.31 9.95 AT5066-1 0.0079 915 998 11 4.33 10.05 AT5066-2 0.0079 932 1007  9 4.31 9.95 AT5066-2 0.0079 916 998  9 4.33 10.05 AT5199 0.0051 837 929 10 4.24 8.16 AT5199 0.0048 868 955 10 4.27 9.03

[0134] In FIG. 9, the tensile strength of the cold-rolled strip in this example is plotted against the amount (%) of [Mo-equivalence+2.5×Fe-equivalence+40×O %]. A good correlation between them is noticed. It is apparent that the tensile strength exceeds 900 MPa when the amount of [Mo-equivalence+2.5×Fe-equivalence+40×O %] exceeds 7.0%.

[0135] Also, the sample of heat No. AT4790 in this example was examined to see how ductility and strength in the longitudinal and transverse directions are affected differently depending the conditions under which annealing is carried out after coil cold-rolling. To this end, a 1.2-mm thick cold-rolled strip was produced by the method mentioned above, and then it was tested for elongation in the longitudinal and transverse directions, proof stress (at 0.2% permanent set), and tensile strength. The results are shown in Tables 10 and 11. It was found that those ingots produced in large quantities as in this example yield strips which are slightly low in elongation in the transverse direction (perpendicular to the rolling direction) if annealing is carried out at about 925° C. after coil cold-rolling. In other words, it is apparent that in the case of annealing coil cold-rolled strips in large scale, the annealing temperature leading to a decrease in elongation in the transverse direction is somewhat higher than in small scale and the annealing at an increased temperature decreases elongation only a little in the transverse direction.

[0136] The fact that the results in this example differ from those in Example 3 is due to a slight difference in composition which arises from the production of ingots in large quantities in this example, a difference in scale of the production of coil cold-rolled strips, and a difference in thickness (or cooling rate) of cold-rolled strips.

[0137] Subsequently, the sample of heat No. AT4790, which is a 1.2-mm thick cold-rolled coil, was subjected to annealing at different temperatures and ensuring bending test. The sample in bending test was evaluated in terms of the minimum value of R/t, where R is the bending radius and t is the thickness, (which is called the minimum radius). The results are shown in FIG. 12. It is noted that the sample (L in FIG. 12) which was bent such that the bending axis is parallel to the rolling direction of the sample subjected to annealing at temperatures in the range of 850° C. to 950° C. has a small minimum radius (which implies good bending properties). It is also noted that the ingot of heat No. AT4790 has the &bgr;-transus of 973° C. at its top and 978° C. at its bottom and hence it exhibits good bending properties if it undergoes final annealing at a temperature between (&bgr;-transus−130° C.) and (&bgr;-transus−15° C.). The preferred annealing temperature for the alloy in this example is 850-963° C.

Example 5

[0138] A 20-mm thick slab was prepared by button arc melting from a titanium alloy having a base composition of Ti−2Mo−1.6V−0.5Fe−4.5Al−0.3Si−0.03C and additionally containing Ru in an amount of 0.05% or 0.08%. The ingot was heated at 1000° C. for 30 minutes and then hot-rolled to give a 10-mm thick plate. The plate was heated at 930° C. and then hot-rolled to give a 4-mm thick sheet. After annealing and descaling, the sheet was cold-rolled until its thickness was halved. It was found that cold-rolling was accomplished successfully as in the case of titanium alloy containing no Ru. After cold-rolling, the strip was annealed at 800° C. for 10 minutes. The thus obtained samples were tested for tensile strength and elongation in the longitudinal and transverse directions (twice each). The results are shown in Table 9. 9 TABLE 9 0.2% proof Ru Tensile strength, Tensile strength, content, % direction MPa MPa Elongation, % 0.05 L 908 989 16 0.05 L 920 987 18 0.05 T — 1042 13 0.05 T — 1045 11 0.08 L 917 979 16 0.08 L 913 991 17 0.08 T — 1017 12 0.08 T — 1008 11

[0139] The samples shown in Table 9 (containing 0.05% Ru, containing 0.08% Ru, and not containing Ru) were tested for corrosion resistance, with pure titanium being a control.

[0140] First, each sample was immersed in an HCl solution to test for ability to keep the passive state. Evaluation was made in terms of the concentration of HCl solution at which the sample loses its passive state. The results are shown in FIG. 13a. It is noted that the sample containing 0.05% Ru or 0.08% Ru keeps the passive state in the same way as pure titanium.

[0141] Then, the samples were tested for corrosion speed by immersion in an aqueous solution containing 1 mol/L of NaCl and 1 mol/L of HCl. The corrosion speed in this aqueous solution was compared with that in boiling water. The results are shown in FIG. 13b. It is noted that the corrosion speed of the Ru-containing sample is about one half of that of pure titanium.

[0142] The samples were also tested for crevice corrosion (by the multi-crevice method) in order to find the rate of corrosion occurrence. After polishing with emery (#400) in wet process and degreasing, specimens were immersed in a boiling aqueous solution containing 20% of NaCl for 1 week. The number of incidences of crevice corrosion that occurred was counted, and the ratio of that number to the number of crevices was calculated. The results are shown in FIG. 13c. It is noted that the Ru-containing samples are superior to pure titanium in resistance to crevice corrosion.

Example 6

[0143] A 20-kg ingot was prepared from a titanium alloy having the composition of Ti—2Mo—1.6V—0.5Fe—4.5Al—0.3Si—0.03C (with an actually measured &bgr;-transus of 963° C.) or Ti—2Mo—1.6V—0.5Fe—4.5Al—0.3Si—0.06C (with an actuallymeasured&bgr;-transus of 987° C.). For comparison, an ingot was prepared in the same way as above from a C-free titanium alloy having the composition of Ti—2Mo—1.6V—0.5Fe—4.5Al—0.3Si (with an actually measured &bgr;-transus of 940° C.). The ingot was made into 36-mm thick slab. The slab was made into a 4-mm thick sheet by hot-rolling with single heating at a different temperature of 910° C., 930° C., or 950° C. The rolled sheet was examined for edge cracking. It was found that there is no significant difference among the samples in occurrence of edge cracking despite the fact that they differ in &bgr;-transus by 23° C. (equivalent to about 770° C./%C) because they differ in C content by 0.03%. In the case of heating at 910° C., edge cracking (about 3-5 mm deep) occurred; however, in the case of heating at 930° C. or 950° C., no edge cracking occurred. A probable reason for this is that C is an interstitial element and hence it does not contribute so much to solid-solution strengthening at high temperatures, with the result that the a-phase keeps its high ductility even though it is heated to a high temperature. Namely, it is noted that the C-free alloy is liable to edge cracking at the temperature (910° C.), which is lower than (&bgr;-transus−20° C.=920° C.), whereas it is immune to edge cracking at the high temperature (930° C. or 950° C.). It is concluded that the C-containing sample contains more a-phase than the C-free sample at the same temperature which is higher than (&bgr;-transus−20° C.), but the increased a-phase does not greatly affect the occurrence of edge cracking.

[0144] As described above, the present invention has a basic composition wherein the contained percentages of the isomorphous &agr; stabilizing element and the eutectic &bgr; stabilizing element are defined, and a specified amount of Si, or additionally a small amount of C or 0 is incorporated into the basic composition. Thus, the present invention has a strength property which is not inferior to Ti—6Al—4V alloys which have been most widely used, and has remarkably raised cold workability, which is insufficient in the conventional alloys, to make coil-rolling possible. Moreover, the present invention can provide a titanium alloy having all of remarkably improved strength and ductility in HAZ after welding, and high workability, strength and weldability.

[0145] Therefore, the titanium alloy of the present invention can be used in various applications for its characteristics. The present invention can be very useful used as, for example plates for heat-exchangers by using, in particular, excellent corrosion-resistance, lightness, heat conductivity and cold-formability.

Claims

1. An &agr;+&bgr; titanium alloy comprising at least one isomorphous &bgr;-stabilizing element in a Mo equivalence of 2.0-4.5 mass %, at least one eutectic &bgr;-stabilizing element in an Fe equivalence of 0.3-2.0 mass %, Si in an amount of 0.1-1.5 mass %, and C in an amount of 0.01-0.15 mass %, and has a P transformation temperature no lower than 940° C.

2. The &agr;+&bgr; titanium alloy according

claim 1, wherein an Al equivalence is more than 3 mass % and less than 6.5 mass %.

3. The &agr;+&bgr; titanium alloy according

claim 2, wherein those elements of Al equivalence are entirely Al.

4. The &agr;+&bgr; titanium alloy according to

claim 1, which substantially contains Mo in an amount of 1.0-3.0 mass %, V in an amount of 1.0-2.0 mass %, Fe in an amount of 0.3-1.0 mass %, Al in an amount of 3.5-5.5 mass %, Si in an amount of 0.2-0.5 mass %, and C in an amount of 0.02-0.15 mass %, with the remainder being Ti and inevitable impurities.

5. The &agr;+&bgr; titanium alloy according to

claim 1, which contains O as an additional element such that the amount of Mo-equivalenve, the amount of Fe-equivalence, and the content of 0 satisfy the following inequality [1].

7.0 mass %≦(Mo-equivalence+2.5×Fe-equivalence+40×O mass %)≦19 mass %  [1]

6. The &agr;+&bgr; titanium alloy according to

claim 1, which further contains a platinum group element in an amount of 0.03-0.2 mass %.

7. A process for hot-rolling the titanium alloy of any of

claims 1 to

6, said process comprising heating the titanium alloy at a temperature (T1) which satisfies the following inequatity [2] and then rolling it.

[&bgr;-transus−20° C.−(770×C mass %)° C.]≦T1<&bgr;-transus  [2]

8. A process for rolling the titanium alloy of any of

claims 1 to

6, said process comprising annealing the titanium alloy at a temperature (T2) which satisfies the following inequality [3] and then rolling it, thereby producing a coil of titanium alloy.

[&bgr;-transus−270° C.]≦T2≦(&bgr;-transus−50° C.)  [3]

9. The process for rolling to produce a coil according to

claim 8, wherein rolling is carried out under a tension of 49-392 MPa such that the draft is no lower than 20%.

10. The process for rolling to produce a coil according to

claim 8, wherein rolling is repeated more than once, with annealing in the cc+p region intervening between consecutive rolling steps.

11. A process for annealing a cold-rolled coil of the titanium alloy of any of

claims 1 to

6, characterized in that the heating temperature for annealing is higher than the temperature at which work hardening due to cold-rolling is relieved and lower than the &bgr; transus but excludes the temperature range in which a alloy of brittle hexagonal crystals emerges, thereby improving the elongation in the transverse direction of the rolled strip of the titanium alloy.

12. A process of annealing a coil cold-rolled strip of the titanium alloy of any of

claims 1 to

6, wherein annealing is carried out at the temperature (T3) which satisfies the inequality [4] below so as to give a coil rolled titanium alloy strip superior in bending properties.

(&bgr;-transus−130° C.)≦T3≦(&bgr;-transus−15° C.)  [4]

13. A process of annealing a coil cold-rolled strip of the titanium alloy of

claim 4, wherein annealing is carried out at a temperature no lower than 850° C. and no higher than 963° C. so as to give a coil rolled titanium alloy strip superior in bending properties.