Effects of tooling temperatures on formability of titanium TWBs at elevated temperatures

This paper aims at investigating the effects of tooling temperatures on the formability of Ti-TWBs at elevated temperatures. This is achieved by employing a newly developed tooling system with a heating control function. TWBs with different thickness combinations were prepared and used to examine the formability under elevated temperatures. The newly developed tooling temperature control device can be used to heat the specimens up to 600 °C. The temperature of the tooling system can also be raised to varying temperatures, including room temperature (RT), 300 °C and 550 °C. Tests were carried out to examine the mechanical properties and formability of Ti-TWBs with the aid of the temperature control system. Furthermore, investigations were conducted to ascertain whether the critical tooling components such as die and blank holder can attain and then maintain the required test temperatures. The results reveal that the formability of Ti-TWBs can be optimized with a well controlled tooling temperature system, thus resulting a more efficient and effective forming of titanium alloys TWBs.