Constitutive Modeling of the High-Temperature Flow Behavior of α-Ti Alloy Tube

In the hot metal gas forming process, the deformation conditions, such as temperature, strain rate and deformation degree, are often prominently changed. The understanding of the flow behavior of α-Ti seamless tubes over a relatively wide range of temperatures and strain rates is important. In this study, the stress–strain curves in the temperature range of 973-1123 K and the initial strain rate range of 0.0004-0.4 s−1 were measured by isothermal tensile tests to conduct a constitutive analysis and a deformation behavior analysis. The results show that the flow stress decreases with the decrease in the strain rate and the increase of the deformation temperature. The Fields–Backofen model and Fields–Backofen–Zhang model were used to describe the stress–strain curves. The Fields–Backofen–Zhang model shows better predictability on the flow stress than the Fields–Backofen model, but there exists a large deviation in the deformation condition of 0.4 s−1. A modified Fields–Backofen–Zhang model is proposed, in which a strain rate term is introduced. This modified Fields–Backofen–Zhang model gives a more accurate description of the flow stress variation under hot forming conditions with a higher strain rate up to 0.4 s−1. Accordingly, it is reasonable to adopt the modified Fields–Backofen–Zhang model for the hot forming process which is likely to reach a higher strain rate, such as 0.4 s−1.