A Pulsed Current Application to the Deformation Processing of Materials

A review of studies on the electroplastic effect on the deformation process in various conductive materials and alloys for the last decade has been carried out. Aspects, such as the mode and regimes of electric current, the practical methods of its introduction into materials with different deformation schemes, features of deformation behavior accompanied by a pulsed current of different materials, structural changes caused by the combined action of deformation and current, the influence of structural features on the electroplastic effect, changes in the physical, mechanical, and technological properties of materials subjected to plastic deformation under current, possible mechanisms and methods of physical and computer modeling of the electroplastic effect, and potential and practical applications of the electroplastic effect are considered. The growing research interest in the manifestation of the electroplastic effect in such new modern materials as shape-memory alloys and ultrafine-grained and nanostructured alloys is shown. Various methods of modeling the mechanisms of electroplasticity, especially at the microlevel, are becoming the most realistic approach for the prediction of the deformation behavior and physical and mechanical properties of various materials. Original examples of the practical application of electropulse methods in the processes of drawing, microstamping, and others are given.

Electroplastic Effect during Tension and Bending in Duplex Stainless Steel

The deformation behavior of duplex stainless steel under tension and bending, accompanied by a pulsed current and when heated by an external source, is investigated. The stress-strain curves are compared at the same temperatures. The contribution to the decrease in flow stresses is greater when using a multi-pulse current at the same temperature, compared to external heating. This confirms the presence of an electroplastic effect. An increase in the strain rate by an order of magnitude reduces the contribution of the electroplastic effect from single pulses to the reduction in flow stresses by 20%. An increase in the strain rate by an order of magnitude reduces the contribution of the electroplastic effect from single pulses to the reduction in flow stresses by 20%. However, in the case of a multi-pulse current, the strain rate effect is not observed. Introducing a multi-pulse current during bending reduces the bending strength by a factor of two and the springback angle to 6.5.

Deformation Behavior under Tension with Pulse Current of Ultrafine-Grain and Coarse-Grain CP Titanium

The problem of the real existence of the electroplastic effect during deformation of metallic materials of different nature is still relevant. At the same time, the influence of structure refinement is not considered enough. In this work, the deformation behavior of ultrafine-grained (UFG) titanium Grade 4 is compared with that of coarse-grained (CG) titanium under tension with pulse current of the low duty cycle. The deformation curves of both structure states are presented for different regimes of pulsed current and thermal heating from an external source. Structure studies by optical and scanning electron microscopy, as well as microhardness measurements have been carried out. It is shown that Grade 4 titanium under tension accompanied by pulsed current exhibits electroplastic effect (EPE) in the form of a flow stress reduction. EPE in UFG state is much stronger than in CG state. An increase in the density and duration of the current pulse leads to a multiple decrease in the flow stresses in CG and UFG titanium. The contribution in the flow stress reduction from heating by an external source was less than that from tension with pulse current at the same temperatures. The impact of pulsed current during tension does not influence microhardness and grain size.

Mechanical Behavior and Constitutive Modeling of the Mg-Zn-Y Alloy in an Electrically Assisted Tensile Test

The Mg-Zn-Y alloy containing the LPSO phase has excellent mechanical properties and functional application prospects. In an effort to clarify the electrically assisted deformation behavior of the Mg-Zn-Y alloy, electrically assisted tensile tests of Mg_98.5Zn_0.5Y₁ alloy sheets were carried out at different temperatures, current densities, duty ratios, and frequencies. The experimental results showed that, after the pulse current was applied (26.58 A·mm^-2), the peak stress of the sample deformed at 200 °C decreased by 8 MPa. The peak stress of the material decreased with the increase in current density. It is noticeable that the changes in duty ratios and frequencies have a small effect on the peak stress and strain. When the current was applied, more recrystallized grains appeared in the alloy and the basal texture was weakened. According to the experimental results, the Arrhenius model was derived based on the Zener-Hollomon parameter. Owing to the appearance of the stacking fault structure (LPSO), the activation energy Q of the Mg_98.5Zn_0.5Y₁ alloy was 389.41 KJ/mol, which is higher than conventional Mg alloys. Moreover, the constitutive equation of the electro plastic effect coupled with temperature and pulse current parameters was established by introducing electrically assisted characteristics. By comparing the experimental and predicted values, the established model can effectively predict the variation trend of flow stress under electrically assisted deformation. Moreover, the constitutive model was incorporated into the UHARD subroutine of ABAQUS software to study the deformation behavior of the Mg_98.5Zn_0.5Y₁ alloy.

The Effect of Direct Electric Current on the Plastic Behavior of AA7075 Aluminum Alloy in Different States of Hardening

Electrically-Assisted Forming (EAF) techniques are interesting and promising for the automotive industry. Electrically-assisted tensile tests were carried out on specimens of AA7075 aluminum alloy in different states of hardening, namely T6 (the as-received state) and the supersaturated solid solution state. All the tests were carried out in quasi-static conditions under the application of direct electric current (DC) in the range of 90 to 540 A. The experimental results showed that with a DC density of 10 A/mm² the uniform strain and strain at fracture increased when the AA7075 was in the supersaturated solid solution state. A correlation between the mechanical results and microstructural features analysed through transmission electron microscopy was assessed. An explanation of the investigated phenomena based on the electron wind theory, heterogeneous microscale Joule heating and the Portevin–Le Chatelier (PLC) effect was finally proposed.

Influence of Electropulsing Treatments on Mechanical Properties of UNS S32750 Duplex Stainless Steel

Prestrained at 5% and 15% duplex stainless steel UNS S32750 specimens have been subjected to electropulsing treatments with current density of 100 A/mm² and 200 A/mm² and 100 and 500 pulses for each current density value. Corrosion tests, X-ray diffraction, microhardness and residual stresses were collected before and after the electropulsing treatments. Tensile tests were performed after the electropulsing treatments in order to compare the mechanical response to reference tensile tests performed before pulsing treatments. Increase in fracture strain was observed after pulsing treatment in comparison to the reference tensile tests. A decrease in microhardness was also observed after electropulsing treatments for both degrees of prestrain. Electropulsing treatment almost eliminates the work-hardened state in the 5% prestrained specimens while partially recovered the 15% prestrained material increasing both uniform and fracture strain. Bulk temperature of the samples remained the same for all treatments duration. The effect are to be addressed to a combined effect of increase in atomic flux due to the electrical current and local joule heating in correspondence of crystal defects. Electropulsing treatment applied to metallic alloys is a promising technique to reduce the work hardening state without the need of annealing treatments in a dedicated furnace.

Investigation of Electroplastic Effect on Four Grades of Duplex Stainless Steels

Since the late 1950s, an effect of electrical current in addition to joule heating on the deformation of metals called the Electroplastic Effect (EPE) has been known. It is used nowadays in the so-called Electrically Assisted Forming (EAF) processes, but the understanding of the phenomenon is not very clear yet. It has been found that EPE increases the formability of high stacking fault energy (SFE) materials, while low SFE materials reach fracture prematurely. Since Duplex Stainless Steels (DSSs) possess a microstructure consisting of two phases with very different SFE (low SFE austenite and high SFE ferrite) and they are widely used in industry, we investigated EPE on those alloys. Tensile tests at 5 A/mm², 10 A/mm² and 15 A/mm² current densities along with thermal counterparts were conducted on UNS S32101, UNS S32205, UNS S32304 and UNS S32750. The DSS grades were characterized by means of optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and their mechanical properties (ultimate tensile strength, total elongation, uniform elongation and yield stress). An increase in uniform elongation for the electrical tests compared to the thermal counterparts as well as an increase in total elongation was found. No differences were observed on the yield stress and on the ultimate tensile strength. Un uneven distribution of the current because of the different resistivity and work hardening of the two phases has been hypothesized as the explanation for the positive effect of EPE.