Electric Pulse Aided Draw-Bending of Ti-6Al-4V

Electric pulse aided deformation is gaining importance because of its potential to deform difficult-to-form materials (high strength steels, magnesium, and titanium alloys) at very low temperatures compared to hot/superplastic forming due to the electro-plastic effect. In the present work, electrically assisted draw-bending experiments on Ti-6Al-4V alloy are carried out to study the effect of electric pulse parameters (current density, energy density, frequency) on deformation energy and retained height of components. A custom-designed experimental setup is fabricated where there is a provision to pass the current only in the deformation zone to minimize the overall joule heating. Results indicate that deformation energy decreased, and retained height increased with increased energy density due to increased temperature rise. It is observed that force-drop and retained height increased with an increase in current density at constant energy density (temperature rise nearly the same), which is attributed to the electro-plastic effect. No significant change in the hardness values is observed with and without electric aid.