Effect of Orientation of Weld Line on Formability of Electron Beam-Welded Dissimilar Thickness Titanium Sheets

Recently, manufacturing industries are looking forward to get insight into the influence of weld orientation on formability of tailor-welded blanks (TWBs) of titanium sheets for design and fabrication of lightweight components. Hence, commercially pure titanium (CP Ti) sheets of 1.0 and 1.2 mm thickness were joined together by electron beam welding process using accelerating voltage of 55 kV, beam current of 14.9 mA and welding speed of 865 mm/min. Two different types of TWBs with weld line perpendicular to the rolling direction (WL ⊥ RD) and weld line parallel to the rolling direction (WL || RD) were fabricated, and subsequently, the tensile test, microstructure and microhardness characterizations were conducted to ensure quality of weld. The limiting dome height (LDH) tests were carried out using laboratory-scale setup to evaluate forming behavior of both the above TWBs in terms of FLD, strain distribution, weld line movement and failure location. It was found that the tensile stress–strain response and formability performance of TWBs were significantly influenced by weld line orientation with lower ductility, ultimate tensile strength and LDH in TWB of WL || RD. Moreover, significant weld line movement and non-uniform strain distribution with necking and subsequently fracture were observed away from the weld line in thinner 1.0 mm CP Ti sheets depending on both sample geometry and weld line orientation.