Effect of induced current assistance on the bending behavior of TC4 alloy sheet

To address the issue of inferior formability for titanium alloy sheet at room temperature with a relatively higher efficiency, we proposed induced current-assisted forming and carried out the corresponding basic research. With finite element simulation and experiments, the bending property improves as the coil current increases. At the maximum coil current (18 A), the bending load drop and springback angle reach 815.15 N and 25°, respectively, which reflects the optimal bending property in this research. The corresponding evolution in bending behavior depends on the stress state and dislocation motion. With the adequate thermal effect provided by the induced current, refined grains after recrystallization appear, and dislocation density decreases. This induced a load drop and stress reduction in the bending part. Meanwhile, the shape of grains, distribution of dislocations, and activation of the slip systems contribute to the increasingly active dislocation motion during bending, which enhances the plastic deformation. With the contribution of enhanced plastic deformation and reduced stress, the springback of the sheet can be effectively relieved. Therefore, the feasibility of the approach proposed has been validated.