Explorative study of rotary tube piercing process for producing titanium alloy thick-walled tubes with bi-modal microstructure

In order to solve the existing problems in the manufacturing of titanium alloy thick-walled tubes (TATWs), an innovative plastic forming method for the preparation of TATWs using rotary tube piercing (RTP) process was studied. In this paper, the advantages and basic principles of the RTP process were described. A new finite element model is established to study the effect of the thermal parameters on the RTP process of TATWs. Based on the control variable method, two key problems of rolling block and severe temperature rise in the RTP process were all solved, and the TATWs with bi-modal microstructure were produced by the self-developed piercing mill. In addition, the microstructure uniformity of the pierced tube was analyzed. Based on the experimental and numerical investigations, it's found that the RTP process is a viable process for manufacturing TATWs with bi-modal microstructure.