Thermal forming of light-weight alloys under a multi-stage forming process

This article presents an experimental investigation aimed to obtain the optimum formability of light-weight alloys under the multi-stage forming process. Titanium alloy sheets (Ti-6Al-4V) and aluminium alloy sheets (AA5052) of thickness 1 mm with different widths (i.e. 20, 90, and 110 mm) are selected as forming specimens. In order to carry out the multi-stage forming process, a special fixture with a heating system for the pre-straining process is designed and manufactured. The limit dome heights of both titanium alloys and aluminium alloys are measured and recorded. The experimental results reveal that both of the light-weight alloys yielded enhanced ductility at higher working temperatures, because of a decrease in the yield strength. The formability of selected materials is found to be sensitive to the forming temperatures and multi-stage forming processes.