The microstructure and mechanical properties of commercial-purity grade 4 titanium in coarse-grained (CG) and ultrafine-grained (UFG) states are investigated after tensile deformation accompanied by the action of a pulsed electric current at a current density of 13.4 A/mm2, a duty cycle of 10, and a pulse duration of 500 μs. The manifestation of the electroplastic effect (EPE) in the form of a decrease in the flow stress has been confirmed, and it is most pronounced in the case of UFG titanium. The stability of the microstructure (grain size) during electric-current-assisted deformation has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. A slight decrease in the microhardness in the area close to a fracture site is also detected for UFG titanium. Z-shaped forming of 2-mm-thick titanium plates using a pulsed electric current at the process parameters used for tension allowed us to eliminate cracking, which was observed in the case of forming without current.
Korol’kov et al. (Thu,) studied this question.