Forming of the titanium elements by bending

This study was undertaken in order to investigate the titanium bending process. A numerical simulation of the bending of a Ti6Al4V ELI titanium alloy bar was carried out with the Adina System, based on the finite element method. The influence of bar diameter, bending radius and bending angle on the strain and stress distribution in the deformed element was analysed. The numerical calculations demonstrated that the spring-back was dependent on the size of the middle material zone, which remained in an elastic state during bending process. This in turn was dependent on the value of the bending radius, bending angle and diameter/thickness of the bent element. Knowledge of the spring-back is very important because it essentially decreases the forming accuracy of the bent elements. This is especially important when vital titanium elements, such as: body implants or aircraft elements, are bent. Therefore, the calculation results were validated experimentally.