Stringent property requirements from the parts for aerospace applications have led to development and modification of advance Ti and Ni-based alloys. With new alloys come the challenges of optimum processing so as to meet the final requirements in terms of mechanical strength among other properties. Economics of producing such alloys at mills have made these alloys very expensive. Effect of all these factors on the design is to produce near-net shape where material loss in machining from forging to final assembly shape is minimal.

In the near-net shape forging, if the processing variables are not chosen correctly, a ductile fracture may occur on the surface because of strain and thermal gradient. Damage criteria that helps in determining the amount of work exceeding the ductile limit of the material resulting in ductile fracture is very important to include in FEM analysis of such forging processes during the design stage. Commonly used damage criteria and their applications are studied to predict the surface damage from the forging process. This helps the design engineer in designing the near-net shape without compromising on the part and process quality.