Interrogations on the sub-surface strain hardening of grit blasted Ti–6Al–4V alloy

In this work we characterize the microstructural changes induced by grit blasting of the Ti6Al4V alloy and their effect on the sub-surface mechanical properties by means of micro- and ultramicro indentations techniques. It has been observed that the severe plastic deformation at the surface produces an increase in roughness. Such deformation, however, does not cause any evident hardening at the sub-surface zone, which contrast with the work hardening observed on blasted cp Ti and austenitic stainless steel 316 L. It is proposed that the different behaviour of the Ti-base alloy is related to its lower strain hardening exponent. The implications of the absence of subsurface hardening on the loss of fatigue strength observed by other authors are analysed.