PDZ evolution of hot ACDR and forging processes during titanium alloy disc forming

As one of the incremental bulk metal forming, the main plastic metal flow of axial closed die rolling (ACDR) process consists of the axial compression and circumferential torsion. The key difference between the ACDR and forging processes should be concentrating on the plastic deformation zone (PDZ) evolution, especially on the condition of thermal deformation. Therefore, the verified FEM and corresponding experiment have been proposed to find out the systematic rule of PDZ. The thermal parameter distribution of the workpiece has been explored to obtain the PDZ evolution at different deformation extent. PDZ evolution mode has also been proposed, and the distribution of microstructure/hardness is given to the evidence of PDZ mode. The results show that the PDZ spreads from the contact area of the upper surface of the lower/side surface in ACDR process. Multiple thermal parameter evolution in ACDR process could be found through the analysis of microstructure morphology. Also, microstructure orientation could be the fundament of PDZ evolution. The cooling rate and the periodic evaluation of thermal parameters should be the main factors for the microstructure evolution, including the distribution of lamellar α and globular α. Then, the extent and range of PDZ could be defined through the observation and analysis of hardness evolution.