Numerically controlled bending performance of medium strength TA18 titanium alloy tubes under different die sets

The rapid development of aviation and aerospace technologies has led to increased interest in the application of numerically controlled(NC) technology for bending light-weight titanium alloy tubes.In order to study and develop advanced NC bending technology,it is necessary to understand the bending performance of medium strength TA18(Ti-3Al-2.5V,ASTM Gr.9) titanium alloy tubes during NC bending under different die sets.This paper focuses on the bending performance of medium strength TA18 tubes under different NC bending die sets,including the variations in the stress,strain,wall thickness,cross sectional deformation,and defects.The results show that adding a wiper die to the base die set decreases the radial,hoop,and tangential compressive stress and the tangential compressive strain,and adding a mandrel to the base die set also decreases these stresses,but increases the radial and hoop tensile stress and decreases the hoop compressive strain obviously,and brings about a three-dimensional tensile stress concentration where the mandrel provides support.For the NC bending of medium strength TA18 tubes,the flattening of cross section is more sensitive index than the thinning of wall thickness.Introducing a mandrel can improve the flattening of cross section obviously but it has a little worse effect on the thinning of wall thickness,and adding a wiper die to the base die set can inhibit the occurrence of the inside bulge but worsen the flattening of the cross section remarkably.Considering the above effects of the mandrel and wiper die on bending performance,it is reasonable to apply the die set comprising a bending die,clamp die,and pressure die for tubes with a small diameter and the die set including an appropriate mandrel additionally for tubes with a larger diameter,in order to bend the medium strength TA18 tubes with high quality and at low cost.

Analysis of anisotropy mechanism in the mechanical property of titanium alloy tube formed through hot flow forming

Anisotropy of mechanical property is an important feature influencing the service performance of titanium(Ti)alloy tube component.In this work,it is found that the hot flow formed Ti alloy tube exhibits higher yield strength along circumferential direction(CD),and larger elongation along rolling direction(RD),presenting significant anisotropy.Subsequently,the quantitative characteristics and underlying mechanism of the property anisotropy were revealed by analyzing the slip,damage and fracture behavior under the combined effects of the spun{0002}basal texture and fibrous microstructure for different loading directions.The results showed that the prismatic slip in primaryαgrain is the dominant deformation mechanism for both loading directions at the yielding stage.The prismatic slip is harder under CD loading,which makes CD loading present higher yield strength than RD loading.Additionally,the yield anisotropy can be quantified through the inverse ratio of the averaged Schmid Factor of the activated prismatic slip under different loading directions.As for the plasticity anisotropy,the harder and slower slip development under CD loading causes that the CD loading presents larger external force and normal stress on slip plane,thus leading to more significant cleavage fracture than RD loading.Moreover,the micro-crack path under RD loading is more tortuous than CD loading because the fibrous microstructure is elongated along RD,which may suppress the macro fracture under RD loading.These results suggest that weakening the texture and fibrous morphology of microstructure is critical to reduce the differences in slip,damage and fracture behavior along different directions,alleviate the property anisotropy and optimize the service performance of Ti alloy tube formed by hot flow forming.

Formability enhancement in hot spinning of titanium alloy thin-walled tube via prediction and control of ductile fracture

The damage and fracture in hot spinning of titanium alloy is a very complex process under the combined effects of microstructure evolution and stress state.In this study,their dependences on processing parameters were investigated by an integrated FE model considering microstructure and damage evolution,and revealing the effects of microstructure and stress states on damage evolution.The results show that the inner surface of workpiece with the largest voids volume fraction is the place with the greatest potential of fracture.This is mainly attributed to the superposition effects of positive stress triaxiality and the smallest dynamic recrystallization(DRX)fraction andβphase fraction at the inner surface.The damage degree is decreased gradually with the increase of initial spinning temperature and roller fillet radius.Meanwhile,it is first decreased and then increased with the increases of spinning pass and roller feed rate,which can be explained based on the variations ofβphase fraction,DRX fraction,stress state and tensile plastic strain with processing parameters.In addition,the dominant influencing mechanisms were identified and discussed.Finally,the thickness reduction without defect in the hot spinning of TA15 alloy tube is greatly increased by proposing an optimal processing scheme.

Uncertainty analysis and robust design optimization for the heat-assisted bending of high-strength titanium tube

Heat-assisted rotary draw bending(HRDB)is a promising technique for manufacturing difficult-to-form tubular components comprising high-strength titanium tubes(HSTTs)with small bending radii.However,as a multidie constrained and thermomechanical coupled process with many uncertainty factors,a high risk of several defects,such as cross-section distortion,over wall thinning,or even cracking,is present.Achieving the robust design optimization(RDO)of complex forming processes remains a nontrivial and challenging scientific issue.Herein,considering a high-strength Ti-3Al-2.5V titanium alloy tube as a case material,the five significant uncertainty factors in HRDB,i.e.,temperature distribution,tube geometrical characteristics,tube material parameters,tube/tool friction,and boost velocity had been analyzed.Subsequently,considering the preheating and HRDB of HSTT,a whole-process thermomechanical three-dimensional finite element model was established and validated for virtual experiments.Further,considering the maximum section distortion Q and maximum wall-thickness thinning t as the optimization objectives and the mean and variance of material and forming parameters,an RDO model was established.Finally,the Pareto optimal solutions were obtained using the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II,and a minimum distance selection method was employed to obtain the satisfactory solution.Results show that the optimized solutions considering the uncertainty factors reduce the maximum section distortion rate of HSTT after bending by 38.1%and the maximum wallthickness thinning rate by 27.8%.

Experimental characterization of anisotropic tensile mechanical behavior of pure titanium tube

The anisotropic tensile mechanical properties of pure titanium(TA2)tubes were studied by means of theoretical analysis,finite element simulation and tensile tests.Based on the stress analysis of circumferential tensile of TA2 tube,an equation for calculating the tangential force of circumferential tensile specimen was established,and the relationship among tangential force,friction and position of ring specimen was analyzed.The finite element simulation analysis of circumferential tensile process of TA2 ring specimen was carried out,which verified the tangential force equation derived from theoretical analysis.The effect of gauge length and friction on necking and tensile load was analyzed,and the optimal gauge length was selected for the ring hoop tensile test.Finally,the axial and circumferential tensile digital image correlation experiments were carried out to verify the theoretical and finite element simulation results.The friction coefficient between TA2 tube and D-blocks(using Teflon lubricant)was determined by the inverse finite element method and the friction experiment,and the true stress-strain curve of TA2 tube was obtained.The results show that the axial and circumfere ntial mechanical behaviors of TA2 tubes are significantly different and an isotropic.

Favorable Policies For Titanium Tube Industry Are Unveiled Frequently in 2016

For the titanium tube industry in 2016,the widespread loss in the industry in 2015 will quicken the adjustment pace of product structure in the tube market,and create new industrial situation;furthermore,the'One Belt,One Road'plan in the'Thirteenth Five Year'Plan will also boost demand in the tube market.Meanwhile,due to the tremendous base in capacity and output,and excessively long absorption time;coupled with heavy

Deformation Behavior of Medium-strength TA18 High-pressure Tubes During NC Bending with Different Bending Radii

To improve the forming quality and forming limit of the numerical control （NC） bending of high-pressure titanium alloy tubes, in this study, using three-dimensional （3D） finite element method, deformation behavior of medium-strength TA 18 high-pressure tubes during NC bending with different bending radii is investigated. The results show that the cross-sectional deformation and the wall thickness variation during NC bending of TA18 tubes using a small bending radius （less than 2 times of tube outside diameter） are clearly different from that using a normal bending radius （between 2 and 4 times of tube outside diameter）. For bending with a normal bending radius, with or without a mandrel, the distribution of the flattening in the bending area resembles a platform and an asymmetric parabola, respectively. For bending with a small bending radius, with or without a mandrel, the flattening both distributes like a parabola, but the former has a stable peak which deflects toward the initial bending section, and the latter has a more pronounced peak with a bending angle and deflects slightly toward the bending section. The wall thickness variations with a normal bending radius, with and without a mandrel, both resemble a platform when the bending angle exceeds a certain angle. For the bending with a small radius, the distribution of the wall thickness variation without a mandrel follows an approximate parabola which increases in value as the bending angle increases. If a mandrel is used, the thickening ratio increases from the initial bending section to the bending section.

Wall Thinning Characteristics of Ti-3Al-2.5V Tube in Numerical Control Bending Process

A finite element(FE) model for the numerical control(NC) bending of Ti-3 Al-2.5 V titanium alloy seamless tube is established, considering the variation in the contractile strain ratio(CSR) and elastic modulus(E). The wall thinning characteristics of Ti-3 Al-2.5 V tube under different geometric and process conditions were investigated. The results showed that the CSR-E variation can change the wall thickness, but has no remarkable effect on the change characteristics. The reasonable parameter ranges are as follows: a bending-radius range not less than 1.5 times the outer diameter, a bend angle up to 180?, and a mandrel extension of 0-3 mm. The friction coefficient between the pressure die and the tube should be in the range of 0.20-0.35, and between the bending die and the tube should be in the range of 0.05-0.15. As long as the performance meets the requirements, the relative push-assistant speed should be as small as possible.