Titanium alloys offer several beneficial characteristics, such as high specific strength, metallurgical stability at elevated temperature, biocompatibility and corrosion resistance. With regard to these superior properties, Ti-6Al-4V is a commonly used titanium alloy for aerospace components and medical products. The production of parts made of Ti-6Al-4V can be done in various ways. One approach is forming at elevated temperature, which requires a focused design of parts, processes and numerical modelling of the forming process. Essential input parameters for the numerical models are temperature dependent material parameters. Since, the yield stress and Young's modulus of the material decrease significantly at elevated temperature, the forming limits are enhanced. For the characterization of the forming behaviour, uniaxial tensile tests at temperatures from 250 °C to 400 °C have been conducted. The samples are heated by conduction in a thermal-mechanical simulator for the tensile test. However, the resulting inhomogeneous temperature distribution along the longitudinal axis of the specimen is a challenge in order to measure proper material properties. Inhomogeneous temperature distribution leads to varying mechanical properties and temperature dependent forming behaviour. To overcome this issue, simple numerical models based on experimental data are necessary, which allow the estimation of the influence of the inhomogeneous temperature distribution. In this paper, therefore, the temperature distribution and the subsequent tensile test are investigated using electrical-thermal and mechanical numerical simulations of the tensile test at elevated temperature. With the combined approach of experimental tests and numerical simulations, the forming behaviour of Ti-6Al-4V can be modelled.
Numerical modelling approach for the temperature dependent forming behaviour of Ti-6Al-4V