Development of microstructural inhomogeneity in multi-pass flow forming of TA15 alloy cylindrical parts

Revealing the development of microstructural inhomogeneity in the multi-pass flow forming of titanium alloy components is of great significance to the microstructure control and property tailoring. To this end, the microstructural inhomogeneity of TA15 alloy spun cylindrical parts was analyzed based on the deformation history. The results indicate that the material underwent significant compressive strain in the normal direction (ND), tension strain in the rolling and circumferential directions (RD and CD), while tension strain in the CD is slightly small due to the limited material flow in this direction. These strain characteristics make the microstructure, especially the primary α (α_p), present different morphologies in the different planes of the part. Meanwhile, the combined effects of inhomogeneous deformation and temperature distribution in the ND also cause the inhomogeneity of microstructure morphology and parameters in this direction. Quantitative analyses show that with the forming pass increasing, the aspect ratio of α_p increases most in the normal-rolling plane, then in the normal-circumferential plane and least in the circumferential-rolling plane, whereas α_p content decreases in an opposite trend. Along the ND, the aspect ratio and content of α_p is relatively high in the outer and inner surface areas but lowest in the central area, and these inhomogeneous characteristics can be gradually diminished with the forming pass increasing. Furthermore, the variation of hardness inhomogeneity factor indicates that a four-pass forming with the total reduction ratio of 63% could obtain a homogenous microstructure along the ND of the TA15 alloy spun cylindrical part.