Surface modification of TA2 pure titanium by low energy high current pulsed electron beam treatments

Surface integrity changes of TA2 pure titanium including surface topography, microstructure and nanohardness distribution along surface layer were investigated by different techniques of low energy high current pulsed electron beam treatments (LEHCPEBTs). The surface topography was characterized by SEM. Moreover, the TEM observation and X-ray diffraction analysis were performed to reveal the surface modification mechanism of TA2 pure titanium by LEHCPEBTs. The surface roughness was modified by electron beam treatment and the polishing mechanism was analyzed by studying the cross section microstructure of electron beam treated specimens by SEM and TEM. The results show that the surface finish obtains good polishing quality and there is no phase transformation but the dislocations by LEHCPEBT. Furthermore, the nanohardness in the surface modified layer is improved. The remelt and fine-grain microstructure of surface layer caused by LEHCPEBTs are the main polishing mechanism and the reason of modification of surface topography and the increment in nanohardness is mainly due to the dislocations and fine grains in the modified layer induced by LEHCPEBT.