Andrea Ghiotti

Investigation of the High Strength Steel Al-Si Coating during Hot Stamping Operations

To improve the low formability that HSS sheets exhibit at room temperature, innovative forming technologies like the hot stamping process are currently applied. In order to avoid scaling and decarburization during the heating step, metal sheets coated with a specially developed Al-Si coating are utilized. In the present work the coating characteristics in terms of morphology, surface roughness and tribological behaviour are investigated as function of heating temperature, holding time and cooling rate that are typical of hot stamping processes.

Physical simulation of longitudinal welding in porthole-die extrusion

Abstract In porthole-die extrusion, the metal flowing through the die has to split up around the webs and then rejoin creating longitudinal welds that extend along the whole profile. The formation and quality of these welds depend on the metal flow around the webs and a number of process parameters such as the thermal and mechanical history stored in the material in the welding area and the temperature and pressure in the welding chamber. The paper presents a new laboratory test principle based on physical-simulation experiments on real materials that proves to be particularly suitable for investigating and modelling longitudinal welds in hot extrusion. In the test, the conditions governing the formation of longitudinal welds in the real industrial process are accurately reproduced and the process parameters affecting the quality of the welds can be individually controlled as well. The results achieved in applications of the test to aluminum alloy AA 6060 are presented with a focus on the operating conditions in the welding chamber that determine the transition from partial to complete longitudinal welding.

Mechanical Properties and Plastic Anisotropy of the Quenchenable High Strength Steel 22MnB5 at Elevated Temperatures

Within the scope of this paper, the formability of the press hardenable steel 22MnB5 will be investigated with regard to its anisotropic properties at elevated temperatures under the processing conditions of hot stamping. Two different experimental setups have been realized, one at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg using conductive heating, and the other one at the University of Padova using inductive heating. Both of these equipments enable the characterization of the material anisotropy behavior by performing uniaxial, hot tensile tests in the range of hot stamping temperatures.

Interlaboratory Comparison of Forming Limit Curves for Hot Stamping of High Strength Steels

The paper presents the approaches followed by two labs – LFT at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany) and DIMEG at University of Padua (Italy) – in evaluating formability limits of 22MnB5 sheets when processed under hot stamping conditions. Details about the two testing apparatuses and the testing procedures are outlined, and the results in terms of Forming Limit Curves FLC compared and critically commented.

Determination of Yield Locus of Sheet Metal at Elevated Temperatures: A Novel Concept for Experimental Set-Up

The constant demand of increasing performances and safety in vehicle industry has led significant innovations in the materials used in sheet metal forming processes. In particular, multiphase steels and lightweight alloys have known higher and higher importance, thanks to the development of new stamping processes at elevated temperatures, which guarantee, at the same time, better formability, lower springback and more accurate micro-structural control in the formed sheets. With respect to these aspects, the correct design and optimization of the new processes cannot prescind of the mechanical characterization of materials in biaxial stress conditions, especially when it strongly varies according to the stress and temperature. In this paper, a novel experimental set-up is presented for determining the in-plane yield locus of sheet metals at elevated temperatures. A cruciform specimen, whose geometry was optimized by numerical simulation, is used for the study of the yield locus in the range of biaxial tensile stresses. The test machine concept is based on punch-wedge mechanism, which uses the vertical movement of the press for the deformation of the specimen along two perpendicular axes. In the first part of the paper, the optimization of the cruciform specimen by thermo-mechanical FE analyses is outlined. Details on the experimental set-up are then given with the description of the apparatus, the measurement of plastic strains and the heating system for tests at elevated temperatures.

Comparison between Wrought and EBM Ti6Al4V Machinability Characteristics

Electron Beam Melting (EBM) is attracting large interest among the manufacturers of surgical implants as a near-net shape technology. Titanium alloy Ti6Al4V is widely used in the biomedical field thanks to its high biocompatibility, corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. The chemistry and microstructural features of EBM Ti6Al4V indicate lower machinability in comparison with wrought Ti6Al4V. Aim of the paper is to present a comparison between the machinability of wrought and EBM Ti6Al4V in semi-finishing external turning, by quantifying the effects of the cutting speed and the feed rate. Tool wear, surface integrity, chip morphology and microstructural analysis have been used to compare and assess the machinability of Ti6Al4V delivered in the two conditions.

Influence of stacking fault energy in electrically assisted uniaxial tension of FCC metals

Electrically assisted manufacturing is based on the electro-plastic effect induced by electricity on the material flow during deformation and represents an alternative method for forming materials. Several studies have pointed out the real effectiveness of this technique, but no relations among microstructure, electrical resistivity, crystal structure and deformation-mode have been revealed. In the present work, the stacking fault energy (SFE) was taken into account and three FCC materials possessing different SFEs were strained in electrically assisted uniaxial tension under continuous current application. The results showed an advantageous electric contribution only in the highest SFE material, whereas no enhancements in formability were revealed in the investigated low- and intermediate-SFE metals.

Influence of Die Materials on the Microstructural Evolution of HSS Sheets in Hot Stamping

Hot stamping of High Strength Steels sheets is gaining more and more popularity, particularly in the automotive industry, due to the sound microstructures achieved at the end of the process. The significant improvement of the mechanical properties achieved in the process enables to reduce the initial sheet thickness in favour of cost and fuel consumption reduction. However, a martensitic microstructure implies significant drawbacks in final trimming and cutting operations, which becomes more difficult and expensive due to tools wear and high blanking forces. This paper aims at investigating the performances of non-metallic materials to be used in heated dies, in order to inhibit the martensite formation by locally reducing the sheet cooling rate. To analyze the influence of the main process parameters, a new experimental set-up was designed and developed in a laboratory environment that allow applying controlled pressure and temperatures to HSS metal sheets. An analytical model was set-up in order to evaluate the influence of process conditions on the cooling profiles in different areas of the specimen. Accordingly, experiments were carried out to investigate the material behaviour when cooled in the different conditions. The experimentally acquired temperatures were analyzed and evaluated together with hardness measurements of metal sheets in order to assess the feasibility of the proposed approach in producing microstructurally-tailored components.

Anisotropic and Mechanical Behavior of 22MnB5 in Hot Stamping Operations

The hot stamping of quenchable High Strength Steels offers the possibility of weight reduction in structural components maintaining the safety requirements together with enhanced accuracy and formability of sheets. The proper design of this technology requires a deep understanding of material behavior during the entire process chain, in terms of microstructural evolution and mechanical properties at elevated temperatures, in order to perform reliable FE simulations and obtain the desired characteristic on final parts. In particular, the analysis of technical‐scientific literature shows that accurate data on material rheological behavior are difficult to find; while the lack of knowledge about anisotropic behavior at elevated temperatures is even more evident. To overcome these difficulties, a new experimental set‐up was developed to reproduce the thermo‐mechanical conditions of the industrial process and evaluate the influence of temperature and strain rate on 22MnB5 flow curves through uniaxial tensile t...

Elevated temperature behaviour of Ti6Al4V sheets with thermo-electro-chemical modified surfaces for biomedical applications:

Deformation at elevated temperature of Ti6Al4V sheets may represent a process route alternative to machining and Additive Manufacturing (AM) operations to produce biomedical implants characterized by a high surface-to-thickness-ratio. The paper investigates the mechanical and microstructural behaviour at elevated temperature of Ti6Al4V sheets whose surface was properly modified through thermo-electro-chemical processes to enhance the roughness, and therefore osseointegration, as well as bioactivity, to meet the requirements imposed by the specific biomedical application. After the surface characterization, tensile tests were carried out at different temperatures on samples modified on the surface in order to investigate the ductility, microstructure and micro-hardness after deformation and the effect of the surface treatments on them. The optimal surface treatment and deformation temperature were identified, which assured, at the same time, significant ductility increase compared to room temperature, and preservation of the roughness and bioactivity characteristics.