Metal flow characteristics of local loading forming process for rib-web component with unequal-thickness billet

To explore the metal flow and filling law of large-scale rib-web component local loading forming process is important for fast design of unequal-thickness billet (UTB), parameter optimization and process control of the rib-web component local loading forming process. T-shaped component forming under UTB can reflect the forming characteristics in the large-scale rib-web component forming process. In the forming process by using UTB, the width of local loading changes dynamically, the thickness difference of billet changes notably, and the boundary conditions are very complex. By introducing new assumptions, variables and boundary conditions, a mathematical model for local loading pattern caused by UTB is established by using slab method (SM). Based on the virtualizing experimental data observed by finite element method (FEM), a predicted model for the dynamic width of local loading is established by using polynomial regression and partial least squares (PLS) regression. Comparing with FEM results indicates that the relative differences are less than about 10 % for predicted model of local loading width. Comparing with FEM and physical modeling experimental results indicates that the relative differences are less than about 15 % for SM model. The metal flow, cavity fill, and increased width of local loading under local loading condition are studied by using the mathematical models and numerical simulation, and the results indicate that: the metal flow and deformation pattern under local loading are determined by the thickness of billet and the width of local loading; the increased width of local loading is determined by initial geometric parameters, and the forming parameters such as materials (Ti-6Al-4 V and Ti-6Al-2Zr-1Mo-1 V), loading speed (0.1–1.0 mm/s), temperature (950–970 °C), etc. have little influence on it; the value of x _k (position of neutral layer) under local loading pattern caused by geometric parameters of billet is less than that caused by geometric parameters of die at initial forming stage.     

Progressive process design of door lock striker with double bosses by the wall-thickening process

Local thinning inevitably takes place in sheet metal forming. This can be prevented by the application of a compression load during wall-thickening forming, through which a part can become even thicker than the initial sheet material thickness. Wall-thickening forming is advantageous for the manufacturing of cup-shaped products and products with bosses. This study suggests a progressive process design procedure for the wall-thickening forming of a door lock striker with double bosses. The proposed procedure involves first drawing, redrawing, and upsetting. The design of the progressive process is performed with the suggested design procedure using finite element analysis. To verify the result of this study, an experiment for manufacturing door lock striker with double bosses was performed by the progressive process. The results of the experiment for the measurement of the thickness at the bosses showed good agreement with those of the finite element analysis. From the experimental result, double bosses with a thickness distribution of 2.25–4 mm can be manufactured from sheet metal with an initial thickness of 2 mm using wall-thickening forming, which results in an increase in the strength at the bosses by about 27 %.     

Springback behaviors of bi-layered non-homogeneous bellows in hydroforming

Due to the complicated material and structural characteristics of bi-layered non-homogeneous bellows (BNBs) in hydroforming, the bellow deviates easily from its designed profile and this inevitable phenomenon results in a low forming precision. Therefore, it is important to study the springback behavior of bellows for precision forming. Based on finite element (FE) analysis, comparative studies on profiles of single-layered bellows, bi-layered homogeneous bellows (BHBs), and BNBs with two expansion ratios (k, the ratio of outer-to-inner diameter) k = 1.2 and k = 1.6 as well as two materials 304SS and Inconel 718 are implemented. The springback behaviors of different simulation settings are investigated, and several conclusions are drawn: (1) after springback, the U-shaped convolution profile is changed to tongue shape accompanied by a 2.5~38.5% axial elongation and a 0.1~0.6% radial shrinkage; (2) the springback tendency grows with the increase of number of layers, the improvement of mechanical properties of material, and the decrease of expansion ratio.     

Optimum design of cam-roller follower mechanism using a new evolutionary algorithm

Selection of tooling to perform specific operations like drilling and milling on ceramic materials using rotary ultrasonic machining process is an important aspect to meet stringent dimensions on workpiece as well as intended performance of tool. This phenomenon is more critical for micro rotary ultrasonic machining. In the present study, an effort was made to do micro drilling operation of Ø0.3 mm tool with varying geometry, having different wall thicknesses and abrasive grain sizes using design of experiments. The effect of tool-based parameters like grain size and wall thickness has been studied on axial cutting force, radial cutting force, tool wear, edge chipping area and taper. After examining axial and radial cutting forces, it has been concluded that lower wall thickness (80 μm) tool is good for drilling operation; and higher wall thickness (100 μm) tool is good for milling operation under same material removal rate conditions. It has been also investigated that lower wall thickness (80 μm) tool has less edge chipping area and less taper and can impart high drilling depth as compared to higher wall thickness (100 and 150 μm) tool. It is also concluded that lesser grain size (15 μm) tools are advantageous in terms of edge chipping area and cutting force for drilling and milling operations as compared to higher grain size (30, 35 and 45 μm) tool at constant material removal rate. Higher grain size tools have been broken at 1.13 mm³/h material removal rate conditions due to bad profile accuracy. But higher grain size tools have worked fairly well at less material removal rate condition. Higher grain size tools produced less wear. Tool wear was found minimum in higher wall thickness (100 μm) tool having higher abrasive grain size (30 μm). Using inferred results, Ø0.3 mm drilling experiments have been carried out on six aerospace ceramic materials. Also, groove of 0.5 mm size using Ø0.3 mm optimised tool has been successfully carried out in sintered SiC.     

Analytical modeling and numerical simulation for three-roll bending forming of sheet metal

The three-roll bending forming of sheet metal is an important and flexible manufacturing process due to simple configuration. It is suitable for forming large sheet parts with complex, curved faces. Most researches on roll bending forming of large workpiece are mainly based on experiments and explain the process through macroscopic metal deformation. An analytical model and ABAQUS finite element model (FEM) are proposed in this paper for investigating the three-roll bending forming process. A reasonably accurate relationship between the downward inner roller displacement and the desired springback radius (unloaded curvature radius) of the bent plate is yielded by both analytical and finite element approaches, which all agree well with experiments. Then, the three-roll bending forming process of a semi-circle-shaped workpiece with 3,105 mm (length)?×?714 mm (width)?×?545 mm (height) is simulated with FEM established by the optimum tool and process parameters. Manifested by the experiment for three-roll bending forming of this workpiece, the numerical simulation method proposed yields satisfactory performance in tool and process parameters optimization and workpiece forming. It can be taken as a valuable mathematical tool used for three-roll bending forming of large area sheet metal.     

Bulge forming of vessels from flat blanks

A forming process is suggested for producing vessels or containers of required shape from sheet metal by drawing, ironing and bulging under internal pressure and axial compressive force in one continuous operation. The process has been successively applied in the present series of tests for forming spherical and conical aluminium vessels.     

大口径厚壁波纹管的制造

通过对DN600,12mm厚不锈钢波纹管制造,了解和掌握厚壁波纹管的成型压力、单波展开料等重要工艺参数,了解厚壁波纹管与薄壁波纹管在成型工艺上的异同。     

大口径阀门用精密金属波纹管成形工艺

通过对大口径金属波纹管成形工艺方法比较,突出多波一次整体液压胀形工艺的优点,着重阐述金属波纹管液压成形模具的设计、波纹管半自动成形工艺流程的介绍和不同导向结构中的成形装备结构设计,针对特定精密金属波纹管采用相应的成形工艺装备结构。     

Superplastic-like forming of Ti-6Al-4V alloy

Superplastic forming of titanium alloys is used for producing structural components, since it is an effective way to manufacture complex-shaped parts in a one-step operation. An optimized sheet-forming process has been designed incorporating a non-isothermal heating system to establish a fast forming process. This work sought to expand the advantages of the technology to the forming of Ti-6Al-4V alloy at 800 °C and shorter cycle time. The minimum thicknesses area was found at the outward corners, showing a maximum percent thinning of 54 %. In addition to stress variations, the cracks resulting from hot drawing and the oxidation on the sheet surface are the other reasons leading to thickness reduction. From the oxidization behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy, it was revealed that the decrease in forming temperature from 900 to 800 °C significantly reduced the formation rate of oxide film on the sheet surface. The study also showed that the main microstructure evolution of Ti-6Al-4V alloy under these conditions was recrystallization.     

Optimization of loading path in hydroforming T-shape using fuzzy control algorithm

The loading path is crucial to the quality of forming parts in the process of tube hydroforming, and thus the design and optimization of loading path is an important issue for tube hydroforming. Wrinkling is a catastrophic defect for thin-walled tube hydroforming. In order to avoid wrinkling, an adaptive simulation approach integrated with a fuzzy control algorithm is used to optimize the loading path of hydroforming a T-shaped tube. The tubular material used is stainless steel and has an outer diameter of 103 mm and the wall thickness of 1.5 mm. The controlled variables are the axial feeding, the counterpunch displacement, and the internal pressure. A code is developed to make the optimization automatically, which works together with LS-DYNA. Six evaluation functions are adopted for identifying geometrical shape and quality of T-shape. Failure indicators obtained from the simulation results are used as the input of the fuzzy control, and then process parameters are adjusted according to the expert experiences in the fuzzy controller. In this way, a reasonable loading path for producing a sound T-shape is obtained, and also a T-shaped product is successfully hydroformed by experiment. The result shows that the fuzzy control algorithm can provide an adequately reliable loading path for hydroforming T-shaped tubes.     

Thermodynamic Behavior Research Analysis of Twin-roll Casting Lead Alloy Strip Process

The thermodynamic behavior of twin-roll casting(TRC) lead alloy strip process directly affects the forming of the lead strip, the quality of the lead strip and the production efficiency. However, there is little research on the thermodynamics of lead alloy strip at home and abroad. The TRC lead process is studied in four parameters: the pouring temperature of molten lead,the depth of molten pool, the roll casting speed, and the rolling thickness of continuous casting. Firstly, the thermodynamic model for TRC lead process is built.Secondly, the thermodynamic behavior of the TRC process is simulated with the use of Fluent. Through the thermodynamics research and analysis, the process parameters of cast rolling lead strip can be obtained: the pouring temperature of molten lead: 360–400 °C, the depth of molten pool: 250–300 mm, the roll casting speed: 2.5–3 m/min, the rolling thickness: 8–9 mm.Based on the above process parameters, the optimal parameters(the pouring temperature of molten lead:375–390 °C, the depth of molten pool: 285–300 mm, the roll casting speed: 2.75–3 m/min, the rolling thickness:8.5–9 mm) can be gained with the use of the orthogonal experiment. Finally, the engineering test of TRC lead alloy strip is carried out and the test proves the thermodynamic model is scientific, necessary and correct. In this paper, a detailed study on the thermodynamic behavior of lead alloy strip is carried out and the process parameters of lead strip forming are obtained through the research, which provide an effective theoretical guide for TRC lead alloy strip process.     

Study on multiple-step incremental air-bending forming of sheet metal with springback model and FEM simulation

A mathematical model of springback radius was developed with dimensional analysis and orthogonal test. With this model, the punch radius could be solved for forming high-precision semiellipse-shaped workpieces. With the punch radius and other geometrical parameters of a tool, a 2D ABAQUS finite-element model (FEM) was established. Then, the forming process of sheet metal multiple-step incremental air bending was simulated with the FEM. The result showed that average errors of the simulated workpiece were +0.68/?0.65 mm, and provided the process data consisting of sheet feed rate, punch displacement and springback angle in each step. A semiellipse-shaped workpiece, whose average errors are +0.68/?0.69 mm, was made with the simulation data. These results indicate that the punch design method is feasible with the mathematical model, and the means of FEM simulation is effective. It can be taken as a new approach for sheet metal multiple-step incremental air-bending forming and tool design.     

Modeling and simulation of wire feed rate for steady current and pulsed current gas metal arc welding using 317L flux cored wire

Wire feed rate plays a vital role in determining the weld characteristics in gas metal arc welding (GMAW). The wire feed rate is affected by any change in welding current in the case of steady current GMA welding and by any change in frequency, peak current, base current and duration of peak and base currents in the case of pulsed GMA welding. To predict the wire feed rate for any set of these parameters, a mathematical model was developed from the results obtained by conducting experiments. Electrode resistance heating constant and arc resistance heating constant were also determined by fitting a regression model. The above parametric constants have been used to simulate the wire feed rates for pulsed GMA welding for different pulse parameters using MATLAB. The effects of pulse parameters on the burnoff factor and burnoff rates were also analysed. The investigation was carried out using AWS 5.22–95 filler wire of size 1.2 mm diameter and the base metal used was IS:2062 structural steel plate of 20 mm thickness. An argon and 5% CO₂ gas mixture at a flow rate of 16 l/min was used for shielding throughout the welding.     

Effect of bright annealing on stainless steel 304 formability in tube hydroforming

Effects of bright annealing (BA) on enhancing formability of stainless steel 304 tube in a tube hydroforming (THF) process were studied. The tube material was the metastable austenitic stainless steel 304 with an initial thickness of 0.5 mm and an outer diameter of 31.8 mm. Both FEA and experimental results showed that THF process of the investigated part alone failed to achieve desired tube expansion of the diameter of 50.8 mm without severe fracture. Thus, a heat treatment process, also known as bright annealing (BA), which caused little to none oxide on the surface of annealed tube, was considered. Initially, effects of different annealing parameters such as temperature and holding time on the material formability were investigated using tensile tests. Stress–strain responses of various conditions were compared. As a result, an annealing process consisted of heating at the temperature of 1,050 °C, holding for 30 min, and rapidly cooling by purging N₂ gas was identified. This annealing should be applied intermediately after a pre-forming step. With the aid of the BA process, tube deformation was significantly increased and the required tube expansion could be therefore attained. In addition, strain-induced martensitic transformation occurred during the forming process was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. The amounts of martensite taking place in tubes (pre-forming, post-forming, and after annealing) were determined and discussed.     

基于响应曲面法的大型锥形件缩口成形工艺设计及多几何参数优化

提出一种适用于大型锥形件的缩口成形方法,通过主应力法对该缩口成形时的轴向缩口力与标准直壁锥形件的缩口力进行对比,得出了最佳成形方案。并基于Deform和响应曲面法讨论了该成形模具中缩口凹模母线弦高χ、内壁直空比l/h和毛坯壁厚S₀、变壁厚尺寸λ分别对缩口件高度和缩口成形力的影响,得到了两个响应变量分别关于四个自变量的回归预测模型,优化出凹模内直空结构和毛坯的最佳几何结构参数,最后通过物理试验得到验证。结果表明：当χ=6.9 mm、l/h=0.3、S₀=29.5 mm、λ=4.8 mm时,毛坯在缩口过程中未发生失稳,实时最大缩口力为1 920 kN,测量缩口件高度为1 108 mm,与模型预测结果误差均小于10%,说明了该工艺方案中缩口凹模和毛坯结构参数的可行性,其成形工艺及模具结构形式将为大型锥形产品的缩口成形提供理论指导。     

Effects of temperature and driver sheet for magnesium alloy sheet in magnetic pulse forming

Thermal effect from warm temperature is always used to improve the formability of AZ31 magnesium alloy sheet. However, it is seldom employed to deform AZ31 sheet in magnetic pulse forming process, due to increasing resistivity and decreasing effect of high strain rate. In this study, Al driver sheets without heating were used to strength effect of high strain rate and drive AZ31 sheet with warm temperature to deform. Method of numerical simulation was used to analyze magnetic pulse forming of AZ31 sheet with driver sheet and temperature. Magnetic flux density and magnetic force with and without Al driver sheet (thickness of 1, 1.5, and 2 mm) and different temperature (25, 100, 150, 200, and 250°C) were investigated. Deformation processes and velocity with Al driver sheet and different temperature were analyzed. The results indicate that it is better for formability of AZ31 sheet to adopt 1-mm Al driver sheet at higher discharge energy and warm temperature.     

Densification behavior of copper powder during the coupled multi-physics fields-activated microforming

External electric field-activated sintering techniques have been widely investigated and applied for the forming of large-sized components. These techniques are, however, rarely utilized for the manufacture of miniature and microsized components. In this paper, a novel, coupled forming, and sintering method is reported, which has been used for the fabrication of microcomponents, wherein the loose powder is loaded directly into the die, followed by simultaneous electrical forming and electric sintering (named coupled multi-physics-fields activation). In the study, the gears with the module of 0.2 and the pitch diameter of 1.6 mm were formed from copper powder. The coupled multi-fields activations were enabled using a Gleeble-1500D thermal simulation machine. Sintered samples with a relative density of 97.20 % have been fabricated at a sintering temperature of 700 °C, heating rate of 50 °C/s, forming pressure of 100 MPa, while these parameters were applied cyclically. The study showed that the axial reduction of the samples increased rapidly with the increase of temperature during the sintering, while the external pressure was maintained. Based on the experimental observations, it can be concluded that the deformation of the particles resulted in an increase in, and then subsequent disappearance of, the interface areas among the particles, which feature plays a key role in the densification of the copper powder.     

An analysis of the formability of aluminum/copper clad metals with different thicknesses by the finite element method and experiment

In this research, the possibility of applying forming limit diagrams to the formability and fracture prediction of clad metal sheets is examined. The forming limits of clad metal sheets with different thickness combinations (e.g., A1050 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 mm/C1100 1.0 mm) are investigated via forming limits test (punch stretching tests). The true stress–strain curves of Al/Cu clad metal sheets are obtained through tensile tests. Using the experimental forming limit diagrams and the stress–strain curves, the fracture prediction of clad metal sheets are simulated by finite element analysis. Moreover, deep drawing tests are carried out to compare the experimental with the numerical results. These results can verify the accuracy of finite element model. Finally, significant differences in formability are found, and comparisons of the fracture prediction of clad metals with different initial thickness ratios are analyzed both numerically and experimentally.     

机械密封焊接金属波纹管随机振动响应及优化分析*

针对焊接式金属波纹管在工作中出现的随机振动问题,运用虚拟激励法理论,采用MATLAB编程得到波纹管在随机激励下轴向和径向时域下的信号;将时域信号利用快速傅里叶变换得到频域信号,并导入Workbench软件中进行随机振动分析;同时对波纹管的危险结构尺寸(波片厚度、焊箍半径和最小弯曲半径)进行响应面优化分析。结果表明:波纹管在受外界随机激励下的频率介于固有频率一阶和三阶之间;波纹管轴向最大响应变形发生在镶嵌静环的一端即自由端,径向最大响应变形发生在靠近波纹管的固定端的波片弧度较大处,随机激励时等效应力集中在靠近焊箍侧,这些位置在工作过程中最容易损坏,与实际工作中的破坏位置相吻合。通过响应面优化分析和自适应多目标优化,得到一组优化关键材料参数,使得波纹管的振动性能得到较大改善,降低了波纹管的损坏率,为焊接金属波纹管的结构参数设计提供理论参考。     

盒形件固体颗粒介质板材成形工艺研究

固体颗粒介质板材成形工艺是采用固体颗粒微珠代替刚性凸(凹)模(或弹性体、液体)的作用对板材拉深成形的新工艺。选用非金属固体颗粒介质——GM颗粒作为研究对象,以固体颗粒介质在高应力水平下的体积压缩试验和摩擦强度试验为基础,应用散体力学理论中扩展的Drucker-Prager线性模型构建固体颗粒介质有限元材料模型。以具有非轴对称性的方盒形件为代表,进行固体颗粒介质成形工艺的有限元模拟,研究成形过程中板材的流动特征和壁厚分布规律。工艺试验成功得到方盒形零件,将加载曲线、成形过程变形特征和壁厚分布曲线与数值模拟结果比对较为吻合。分析表明,采用以散体力学为基础建立的固体颗粒介质材料模型进行工艺模拟,能够得到与试验较为接近的变形特征和力能参数,可以应用于制定工艺方案的依据,为该技术在板材成形中的应用起到指导和借鉴作用。