Materials Science Forum Vols. 519-521

Abstract: In the present study, the finite element analysis has been conducted to investigate the deformation characteristics of forward and backward can extrusion process using AA 1100 aluminum alloy tubes in terms of maximum forming load and extruded length ratio in a combined material flow. A commercially available code is used to conduct rigid-plastic FEM simulation. Hollow tubes are selected as initial billets and the punch geometries follow the recommendation of ICFG. Selected design parametrs involved in simulation includes punch nose radius, die corner radius, frictional condition, and punch face angle. The investigation is foucused on the analysis of deformation pattern and its characteristics in a forward tube extrusion combined simultaneously with backward tube extrusion process main in terms of force requirements for this operation according to various punch nose radii and backward tube thickness. The simulation results are summarized in terms of load-stroke relationships for different process parameters such as backward tube thickness, die corner radii, and punch face angle, respectively, and pressure distributions exerted on die, and comparison of die pressure and forming load between combined extrusion and two stage extrusion process in sequencial operation. Extensive analyses are also made to investigate the relationships between process parameters and extruded lengths in both forward and backward directions. It has been concluded from simulation results that a) the combined operation is superior to multi-stage extrusion process in sequential operation in terms of maximum forming load and maximum pressure exerted on die, b) the length of forward extruded tube increases and that of backward extruded tube decreases as the thickness ratio decreases, and c) the forming load is influenced much by the thickness ratio and the other design factors such as die corner radius and punch face angle does not affect much on the force requirement for the combined extrusion process.

Abstract: This paper is concerned with the analysis of the forming load characteristics of a forward-backward can extrusion in both combined and sequence operation. A commercially available finite element program, which is coded in the rigid-plastic finite element method, has been employed to investigate the forming load characteristics. AA 2024 aluminum alloy is selected as a model material. The analysis in the present study is extended to the selection of press frame capacity for producing efficiently final product at low cost. The possible extrusion processes to shape a forward-backward can component with different outer diameters are categorized to estimate quantitatively the force requirement for forming forward-backward can part, forming energy, and maximum pressure exerted on the die-material interfaces, respectively. The categorized processes are composed of combined and/or some basic extrusion processes such as sequence operation. Based on the simulation results about forming load characteristics, the frame capacity of a mechanical press of crank-drive type suitable for a selected process could be determined along with securing the load capacity and with considering productivity. In addition, it is suggested that different load capacities be selected for different dimensions of a part such as wall thickness in forward direction and etc. It is concluded quantitatively from the simulation results that the combined operation is superior to sequence operation in terms of relatively low forming load and thus it leads to low cost for forming equipments. However, it is also known from the simulation results that the precise control of dimensional accuracy is not so easy in combined operation. The results in this paper could be a good reference for analysis of forming process for complex parts and selection of proper frame capacity of a mechanical press to achieve low production cost and thus high productivity.

Abstract: Numerical analysis of radial extrusion process combined with backward extrusion has been performed to investigate the forming characteristics of an aluminum alloy in a combined extrusion process. Various variables such as gap size, die corner radius and frictional conditions are adopted as design or process parameters for analysis in this paper. The main investigation is focused on the analysis of forming characteristics of AA 2024 aluminum alloy in terms of material flow into backward can and radial flange sections. Due to various die geometries and process conditions such as frictional conditions, the material flow into a can and flange shows different patterns during the combined extrusion process and its characteristics are well summarized quantitatively in this paper in terms of forming load, volume ratio etc. Extensive simulation work leads to quantitative relationships between process conditions and the forming characteristics such as volume ratio of flange to can and the size of can and flange in terms of the can height extruded backward. It is easily seen from the simulation results that the volume ratio, which is defined as the ratio of flange volume to can volume, increases as the gap size and/or die corner radius increase. However, it is interesting to note that the frictional condition has little influence on the forming load and the deformation patterns. Usually, the frictional condition is a greatest process variable in normal forging operation. It might be believed from the simulation results that the frictional conditions are not a major process parameter in case of combined extrusion processes. It is also found that the can size, which is defined as the height of billet after forming, turns out to be even smaller than that of initial billet under a certain condition of die geometry.

Abstract: Despite extensive studies on the aging behaviour of Al3Sc containing alloys, the underlying mechanism of the precipitation strengthening is still not well understood. In particular, the transition radius at which particles become non-shearable is not known. In this work, the work hardening behaviour of an Al-2.8Mg-0.16Sc (wt%) alloy has been characterized for different stages of aging and the corresponding slip line features at the surface of strained specimens have been examined using Nomarski interference contrast. Moreover, the work hardening behaviour is discussed in the framework proposed by Kocks, Mecking and Estrin. It is proposed that changes in macroscopic work hardening behaviour can be used as a signature of the shearable/non-shearable transition.

Abstract: In this paper, stretch flange forming experiments were performed on the AA5182 and AA5754 Al-Mg sheet materials. A triple-action servo-hydraulic press, developed at the University of Waterloo, was used in the experiments. A z-flange tooling, which incorporates mating drawbeads on the main and backup punches, was employed. Drawbeads are used in commercial stretch flange operations to control or limit the rate of cutout expansion. Of interest in the current research are the flange formability and the damage development induced by the bending-unbending of the sheet as it passes through the drawbeads. Both AA5182 and AA5754 were tested with thickness of 1.6 mm. Further tests were performed using 1.0 mm AA5182 to examine the effect of thickness. To examine the effect of cutout size on the formability, cutout radii in the range 88 to 98 mm in increments of 2 mm were tested to failure.

Abstract: The increase of weight efficiency and flight-technical characteristics of the aircraft engineering is presently the actual task, requiring the constant search for new materials. The aluminum alloys low density (< 2500 kg/m3) based on Al-Mg-Li system developed allowed to solve the problem of creating the pressurized sections of the aircraft airframe, where the basic semiproduct are die forgings 1420 alloy. The tensile mechanical properties, low cycle fatigue at axial loading (LCF), the critical stress intensity factor under plain strain (K1C), fatigue crack growth (FCGR) were determined in forgings of 1420 alloy and its weldments.

Abstract: Multiple forging (MF) can be used to attain large plastic strains in bulk alloys by successive forging along three orthogonal directions to retain the initial sample shape. An original multiple forging technique enabling 3-D cross forging at constant temperature up to 500°C has been applied to two Al alloys (Al-1%Mn and Al-3%Mg-Sc,Zr). Their rheology, texture and microstructure evolution are compared with those obtained in plane strain compression (PSC). The results are interpreted in terms of slip activity behaviour during both deformation modes. They can also be correlated with the contributions of free dislocations and sub-boundaries.

Abstract: A number of mechanical tests and metallographic techniques have been used to investigate the mechanism of ductile fracture of AA5754 sheet. The sequence of events in the development of shear localization is clarified using in situ strain mapping on both the sample surface and through thickness direction during tensile tests. It is observed that the failure mode changes from cup-cone type to shearing with increasing Fe content in both continuous cast (CC) and direct-chill cast (DC) AA5754 sheets. However, this transition happens in CC with much lower Fe content than DC. As very little damage is found near the fracture surface, this suggests that damage may be a consequence of the shear process rather than a trigger that determines material ductility. For both CC and DC with same Fe content of 0.21%, fracture strain of CC is much lower than DC. It is postulated that this is due to the differences of particle distribution in these two materials, especially the increased fraction of stringer type structures which exist in CC material.

Abstract: This paper presents a detailed study of the microstructure and mechanical properties of AA7449 alloy during the two step heat treatment leading to the industrial T7651 temper. It is first shown that reproducing the heat treatment without a deformation step as used in the T7651 industrial temper leads to 2-fold decrease of the precipitation kinetics due to the absence of dislocations, while the resulting mechanical properties (if this change in kinetics is accounted for) are very similar. The work hardening rate is shown to strongly evolve during the heat treatment, and this evolution has been correlated to the evolution of microstructure using a Kocks-Mecking-Estrin analysis. Finally, an analysis in terms of activation volume of the strain rate sensitivity allows for the determination of the dislocation / precipitate interaction in the overaged temper.

Abstract: This paper reports recent results on the characterisation and modelling of the three dimensional (3D) propagation of small fatigue cracks using high resolution synchrotron X ray micro-tomography. Three dimensional images of the growth of small fatigue cracks initiated in two Al alloys on natural or artificial defects are shown. Because of the small size of the investigated samples (millimetric size), fatigue cracks grown in conventional Al alloys with a grain size around 100 micrometers can be considered as microstructurally short cracks. A strong interaction of these cracks with the grain boundaries in the bulk of the material is shown, resulting in a tortuous crack path. In ultra fine grain alloys, the crack shapes tend to be more regular and the observed cracks tend to grow like ”microstructurally long cracks” despite having a small physical size. Finite Element meshes of the cracks can be generated from the reconstructed tomographic 3D images. Local values of the stress intensity factor K along the experimental crack fronts are computed using the Extended Finite Element method and correlated with the crack growth rate.