Exploiting Adiabatic Softening for Defect-Free Hot Forging of Ti-6Al-4V Femoral Stems

Hot forging of Ti-6Al-4V is extensively utilized in the manufacture of orthopedic implants; however, the coupled influence of strain rate and temperature on ductile damage evolution during the forging of femoral stems remains insufficiently quantified. In this study, a finite element framework is developed to analyze and optimize the hot forging process, incorporating strain rate- and temperature-dependent plasticity, as well as the Johnson–Cook damage criterion. Mesh convergence is established, and the assumption of quasi-adiabatic conditions is substantiated via Péclet number analysis. A full factorial design is implemented by varying the ram velocity (0.1–0.5 m/s) and initial billet temperature (850–950 °C) to evaluate the forging load, stress triaxiality, equivalent plastic strain, and damage accumulation. Results indicate that process kinetics govern the mechanical response: increasing the ram velocity enhances strain-rate hardening, resulting in higher peak loads, while explicitly reducing stress triaxiality and suppressing ductile damage evolution. Conversely, temperature exhibits a secondary influence within the investigated domain. Validation of the damage criterion confirms safe operating windows, identifying low-velocity forging as a high-risk condition for localized defect formation. These findings provide practical guidelines for the strain-rate-based optimization of thermomechanical processing parameters for Ti-6Al-4V femoral stems.