Electrically assisted deep drawing of Ti–6Al–4 V thin-walled curved components through geometry-guided material flow regulation

Electrically assisted deep drawing provides an effective route for improving the formability of Ti–6Al–4 V sheets through rapid in-situ Joule heating. However, in non-axisymmetric thin-walled curved components, blank geometry simultaneously governs local material supply and the electrical current path, leading to a strong coupling among material flow, electro-thermal softening, and defect formation. In this study, a geometry-guided electrically assisted deep-drawing strategy was developed for Ti–6Al–4 V thin-walled ring-shell components. Forming experiments, thermo-electro-mechanical finite element simulations, mechanical testing, and EBSD characterization were combined to reveal the interaction among blank geometry, temperature evolution, stress redistribution, and regional deformation behavior. The results show that the rectangular blank supplied excessive material to the inner-edge region, intensifying hoop compression and promoting wrinkling. Tailoring the blank boundary progressively improved the matching between local material supply and deformation demand, while simultaneously modifying the current path and Joule-heating response. The S-shaped non-uniform contour blank therefore produced more coordinated material flow and a more stable thermo-mechanical response, resulting in improved wall-thickness uniformity and forming integrity. In contrast, excessive electrical input caused localized overheating and thermal softening, which interacted with tensile strain concentration to promote thinning and premature cracking. These region-dependent thermo-mechanical deformation paths further governed the post-forming microstructure and properties: the compression-dominated inner edge exhibited stronger dynamic recrystallization and grain refinement, whereas the tension-dominated outer edge retained more deformation substructures and showed a stronger strain-hardening response. These findings demonstrate that high-quality electrically assisted forming requires synergistic regulation of blank geometry, material flow, and electro-thermal softening, providing a mechanistic basis for the process design of complex Ti–6Al–4 V thin-walled ring-shell structures.