Enhanced formability and forming efficiency for two-phase titanium alloys by Fast light Alloys Stamping Technology (FAST). (September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wang, Kehuan; Kopec, Mateusz; Chang, Shupeng; Qu, Bao; Liu, Jun; Politis, Denis J.; Wang, Liliang; Liu, Gang
• Is Part Of: Materials & design. Volume 194(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-09
• Subjects: Titanium alloys -- Fast heating -- Hot stamping -- Formability -- Post-form strength; Materials -- Periodicals; Engineering design -- Periodicals; Matériaux -- Périodiques; Conception technique -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2020.108948
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0264-1275

Abstract

Abstract: During hot stamping of titanium alloys, insufficient forming temperatures result in limited material formability, whereas temperatures approaching the β phase transus also result in reduced formability due to phase transformation, grain coarsening and oxidation during the long-time heating. To solve this problem, Fast light Alloys Stamping Technology (FAST) is proposed in this paper, where fast heating is employed. Effects of heating parameters on the formability and post-form strength were studied by tensile tests. Forming of a wing stiffener was performed to validate this new process. Results show that microstructure of TC4 alloy after fast heating was in nonequilibrium state, which could enhance ductility significantly compared with the equilibrium state. When TC4 alloy was first heated to 950 °C with heating rate of 100 °C/s and then cooled to 700 °C, the elongation at 700 °C was more than 3 times that of a slow heating rate with soaking. Nano-scaled martensite with high dislocation density transformed from β phase was observed under fast heating condition. A complex shaped wing stiffener was successfully formed from TC4 titanium alloy in less than 70 s including heating, transfer and forming, and the post-form strength was almost the same with the initial blank. Graphical abstract: Unlabelled Image Highlights: Nonequilibrium microstructure could enhance the formability of TC4 alloy under FAST condition. Nano-scaled martensite transformed from β phase was observed under fast heating condition. A complex shaped wing stiffener was successfully formed by FAST with high efficiency.