A Study on Electro-Assisted Forming of Thin-Walled Skin Components Made of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy
Abstract
To address the challenges of procedural complexity, the lack of an integrated heating–forming capability, and poor formability in the hot forming of titanium alloy skin components, an electrically assisted forming (EAF) process is proposed. A Johnson–Cook constitutive model was established to characterize the flow behavior of Ti–6Al–4V alloy under electric-assisted conditions, achieving a correlation coefficient of 0.968 and an average relative error of 7.67%. Forming parameters were investigated through a combined approach of numerical simulation and experimentation. At a current density of 7.59 A/mm2, a forming speed of 1 mm/min, and a friction coefficient of 0.1, the maximum springback of the component was 1.04 mm. Compared with isothermal forming, the EAF process reduced the springback by 7.14% and enhanced the ultimate tensile strength by 5.34%. Microstructural characterization revealed that, under pulsed current, the α-phase grains of the material were refined, whereas the β-phase fraction and the average grain size increased, accompanied by a 15.3% reduction in the geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) density. This study validates the process feasibility of electrically assisted forming for thin-walled titanium alloy skin components.