Metallic Forging Using Electrical Flow as an Alternative to Warm/Hot Working
- 14 June 2006
- journal article
- Published by ASME International in Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering
- Vol. 129 (1), 84-94
- https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2386164
Abstract
Manufacturing processes (e.g., forging, rolling, extrusion, and forming) rely on heat to reduce the forces associated with fabricating parts. However, due to the negative implications associated with hot working, another more efficient means of applying energy is desired. This paper investigates material property changes of various metals (aluminum, copper, iron, and titanium based alloys) in response to the flow of electricity. Theory involving electromigration and electroplasticity is examined and the implications thereof are analyzed. It is shown that, using electrical current, flow stresses are reduced, resulting in a lower specific energy for open-die forging. It is also shown that an applied electrical current increases the forgeability of materials, allowing greater deformation prior to cracking. Moreover, the changes caused by the flow of electricity are significantly greater than those explained by resistive heating. Additionally, elastic recovery is decreased when using electrical flow during deformation. Finally, for most materials, these effects were dependent on strain rate. Overall, this work demonstrates that substantial increases in the forgeability of metals are achieved by deforming the material while applying an electrical current. These improvements exceed those achieved through comparable increases in workpiece temperature and demonstrate that this method provides a viable alternative to warm/hot working.Keywords
This publication has 9 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Effects of DC Current on the Tensile Properties of MetalsPublished by ASME International ,2005
- Effects of DC Current on the Stress-Strain Curve and Hardness of 6061 T6511 AluminumPublished by ASME International ,2004
- Thermophysical evaluation of a novel aluminum alloy with application to an integrated launch packageIEEE Transactions on Magnetics, 2003
- An Approach of Precipitate/Dislocation Interaction in Age-Hardened Al-Mg-Si Alloys: Measurement of the Strain Field around Precipitates and Related Simulation of the Dislocation PropagationMaterials Science Forum, 2002
- Thermally activated plastic flow of metals and ceramics with an electric field or currentMaterials Science and Engineering: A, 2002
- Effects of electric current on solid state phase transformations in metalsMaterials Science and Engineering: A, 2000
- Electroplasticity in metals and ceramicsMaterials Science and Engineering: A, 2000
- Electromigration in metalsReports on Progress in Physics, 1989
- Effect of electric current on the recrystallization behavior of cold worked α - TiScripta Metallurgica, 1988