Exploitation of the Electroplastic Effect of Commercial Metal Forming Operations

As international markets become more open and competition between domestic and foreign companies grow, novel approaches for improving the efficiency of metal forming processes are required. This is especially true for low ductility classes of materials such as intermetallics and low ductility metals like tungsten and titanium. Rolling processess for these metals generally result in very low yields. IAP Research proposes the development of a sheet forming process which exploits the electroplastic effect present in metallic materials when an electric current is applied under stress. The increased dislocation mobility leads to higher plasticity in forming processes. This leads to higher yield rates, and reduced energy processing costs. Anticipated Benefits: We anticipate that successfully demonstrating the feasibility of using the electroplastic effect in a rolling operation will lead to the development of a pilot scale facility. This technique has application in other metal forming operations such as extrusion and drawing of low ductility materials.