X-ray CT assisted damage identification in warm forging

Abstract

This study aims to identify the 3-dimensional interactions of micro-voids evolution before and after warm-forging a typical titanium alloy component by employing a micro-focus X-ray CT system so as to achieve a more accurate micro-void location and distribution as critical data input for damage prediction in warm forging. A specific forging tool was designed for warm-forging the component. Serval local regions that represented different strain levels were established as representative volume element models for the Ti-6Al-4V preform, in which, the micro-void distributions were obtained directly from the X-ray CT images. Furthermore, the micro-void evolutions of the corresponding representative volume element models were analyzed from the forged component. Thus, the damage evolution, i.e., the variation of void volume fraction, in the warm forging process was identified.