Impact of machining induced surface defects on the edge formability of commercially pure titanium sheet at room temperature

Despite the good properties of titanium which have drawn the interest of various industries over the years, one of the major drawbacks of this material is its poor machinability. This has largely been attributed to its low thermal conductivity and elastic modulus. The ability to attain optimum sheet edge performance during forming is dependent on the quality of the edges produced. Also, the demanding nature of aerospace part design has provoked the interest of both industry and academia to continually explore avenues tailored at enhancing part performance. The sort of edge surface integrity produced for aerospace part fabrication thus becomes a vital consideration in the quest to ensuring prime performance of components. This work seeks to study the influence of different machining induced surface defects on the sheet edge performance of CP-Ti (Grade 2) at room temperature. Hole expansion test was used to assess the edge surface formability of CP-Ti with different machining induced edge defects. The research found that, machining induced surface defects act as stress concentration sites during the hole expansion test and have a major impact on the material flow. Electro-discharge machined edges were observed to exhibit high edge formability compared to laser and abrasive water jet cut edges due to the impact of machining induced microstructural changes.