Effect of phase transformations on laser forming of Ti-6AI-4V alloy

In laser forming, phase transformations in the heat-affected zone take place under steep thermal cycles, and have a significant effect on the flow behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy and the laser-forming process. The flow-stress data of a material are generally provided as only dependent on strain, strain rate, and temperature, while phase transformations are determined by both temperature and temperature history. Therefore, effect of phase transformations on the flow behavior of materials in thermomechanical processing is not given necessary considerations. In the present work, both the alpha -> beta transformation during heating and the decomposition of beta phase, producing martensite alpha' or lamellae a dependent on cooling rate, are numerically investigated. The spatial distribution of volume fractions of phases is obtained by coupling thermal and phase transformation kinetic modeling. Consequently, the flow stress of Ti-6Al-4V alloy is calculated by the rule of mixtures based on the phase ratio and the flow stress of each single phase, which is also a function of temperature, strain, and strain rate. According to the obtained flow-stress data, the laser-forming process of Ti-6Al-4V alloy is modeled by finite element method, and the deformation is predicted. A series of carefully controlled experiments are conducted to validate the theoretically predicted results. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.