Fracture and Structural Integrity e-ISSN 1971-8993 Open access
Fatigue and Fracture of metallic alloys Vol. 20, No. 77 (2026)

Application-driven optimization of Ti-6Al-4V alloy via customized heat treatments

Author and affiliation details
  • Andrea Trombetta ATSolution82, via Aldo Galli 7, 22100 Como Italy ORCID iD0009-0001-4742-1588
  • Cesare Certini Laboratory S.M.T., via Del Lavoro 7, 20060 Pozzo d’Adda (Milano) Italy
  • Luca Marco Pasini Laboratory S.M.T., via Del Lavoro 7, 20060 Pozzo d’Adda (Milano) Italy
  • Marco Virginio Boniardi Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, via La Masa 1, 20156 Milano, Italy ORCID iD0000-0002-2438-7890
  • Luca Rosaspina Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, via La Masa 1, 20156 Milano, Italy ORCID iD0009-0003-2481-4738
  • Edoardo Scabini Corresponding author Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, via La Masa 1, 20156 Milano, Italy ORCID iD0009-0005-4487-912X edoardo.scabini@polimi.it
  • Andrea Casaroli Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, via La Masa 1, 20156 Milano, Italy ORCID iD0000-0001-5207-5547
DOI
10.3221/IGF-ESIS.77.06
Pages
71-88
Published
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Published inVol. 20, No. 77 (2026)Go to the issue

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of controlled heat treatments on the mechanical behaviour of Ti-6Al-4V (Grade 5 Titanium alloy) to improve its performance in structural and high performance applications. Ti-6Al-4V is widely used in aerospace, biomedical and automotive components because of its high strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance: however, simultaneously optimizing strength, ductility, fracture toughness and fatigue resistance remains challenging. Because the alloy is highly sensitive to thermo-mechanical history, heat treatment provides an effective means of tailoring its mechanical response. Four microstructural conditions were examined: (i) annealed, A, (ii) solution-treated and aged, STA, (iii) β-annealed, BA, and (iv) β-solution-treated and overaged, BSTOA. Optical and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the resulting microstructures and tensile, hardness, impact strength, fracture mechanics and fatigue tests to determine the respective mechanical properties. A condition exhibited the highest ductility, whereas the STA treatment produced the greatest strength and hardness; BA condition improved fracture toughness, while BSTOA treatment provided the highest high cycle fatigue limit. These findings demonstrated that appropriate selection of the thermal treatment process can significantly enhance the mechanical performance of Grade 5 Titanium alloy for advanced engineering applications.

Keywords

Article history

  1. ReceivedUntil the next stage: 3 days
  2. RevisedUntil the next stage: 1 day
  3. AcceptedUntil the next stage: 3 days
  4. Published

How to cite

APA

Trombetta, A., Certini, C., Pasini, L. M., Boniardi, M. V., Rosaspina, L., Scabini, E., & Casaroli, A. (2026). Application-driven optimization of Ti-6Al-4V alloy via customized heat treatments. Fracture and Structural Integrity, 20(77), 71–88. https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.77.06

IEEE

A. Trombetta et al., “Application-driven optimization of Ti-6Al-4V alloy via customized heat treatments,” Fracture and Structural Integrity, vol. 20, no. 77, pp. 71–88, 2026, doi: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.77.06.

MLA

Trombetta, Andrea, et al. “Application-driven optimization of Ti-6Al-4V alloy via customized heat treatments.” Fracture and Structural Integrity, vol. 20, no. 77, 2026, pp. 71–88. https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.77.06.

Chicago

Trombetta, Andrea, Cesare Certini, Luca Marco Pasini, Marco Virginio Boniardi, Luca Rosaspina, Edoardo Scabini, and Andrea Casaroli. 2026. “Application-driven optimization of Ti-6Al-4V alloy via customized heat treatments.” Fracture and Structural Integrity 20 (77): 71–88. https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.77.06.

Harvard

Trombetta, A., Certini, C., Pasini, L.M., Boniardi, M.V., Rosaspina, L., Scabini, E. and Casaroli, A. (2026) ‘Application-driven optimization of Ti-6Al-4V alloy via customized heat treatments’, Fracture and Structural Integrity, 20(77), pp. 71–88. doi: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.77.06.

Vancouver

Trombetta A, Certini C, Pasini LM, Boniardi MV, Rosaspina L, Scabini E, et al. Application-driven optimization of Ti-6Al-4V alloy via customized heat treatments. Fracture and Structural Integrity. 2026;20(77):71-88. doi:10.3221/IGF-ESIS.77.06

BibTeX

@article{trombetta2026, author = {Trombetta, Andrea and Certini, Cesare and Pasini, Luca Marco and Boniardi, Marco Virginio and Rosaspina, Luca and Scabini, Edoardo and Casaroli, Andrea}, title = {Application-driven optimization of Ti-6Al-4V alloy via customized heat treatments}, journal = {Fracture and Structural Integrity}, year = {2026}, volume = {20}, number = {77}, pages = {71--88}, doi = {10.3221/IGF-ESIS.77.06}, url = {https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.77.06}, issn = {1971-8993} }

RIS

TY - JOUR AU - Trombetta, Andrea AU - Certini, Cesare AU - Pasini, Luca Marco AU - Boniardi, Marco Virginio AU - Rosaspina, Luca AU - Scabini, Edoardo AU - Casaroli, Andrea TI - Application-driven optimization of Ti-6Al-4V alloy via customized heat treatments JO - Fracture and Structural Integrity T2 - Fracture and Structural Integrity PY - 2026 DA - 2026/04/14 VL - 20 IS - 77 SP - 71 EP - 88 DO - 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.77.06 UR - https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.77.06 SN - 1971-8993 ER -

Licence

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

May be shared and adapted, provided appropriate credit is given. Copyright © 2026 Andrea Trombetta, Cesare Certini, Luca Marco Pasini, Marco Virginio Boniardi, Luca Rosaspina, Edoardo Scabini, Andrea Casaroli.

Copyright 
Authors are allowed to retain both the copyright and the publishing rights of their articles without restrictions.  

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