Simulation and Experimental Study on Roll-Forming Limit of Cup

Roll forming can improve the material utilization rate and production efficiency of cups with a curved rotary profile, but there is no basis for the determination of forming limit. The DEFORM-3D software was used to simulate the roll forming of cups. The influence of the billet wall thickness and bottom thickness, coefficient of friction, radius of roller, and the fillet radius of the punch on the forming limit was studied, and the damage value and velocity vector were analyzed. The results showed that the forming limit of the billet’s wall thickness in roll forming for a cup is about 62%. With the increase of the ratio of the formed cup’s wall thickness to the billet’s bottom thickness, the forming limit of wall thickness will be slightly reduced. A larger radius of roller, fillet radius of punch, and friction coefficient between punch and billet and a smaller friction coefficient between roller and billet are good for decreasing the damage value and improving the roll-forming limit. According to the numerical simulation results, the roll-forming limit diagram of cups is established, and the accuracy of the forming limit diagram is verified by experiments.

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Refill Friction Stir Spot Welding of Thin AA7075-T6 Sheets

The refill friction stir spot welding (refill FSSW) process is a solid-state joining process to produce welds without a keyhole in spot joint configuration. This study presents a thermo-mechanical model of refill FSSW, validated on experimental thermal cycles for thin aluminium sheets of AA7075-T6. The temperatures in the weld centre and outside the welding zone at selected points were recorded using K-type thermocouples for more accurate validation of the thermo-mechanical model. A thermo-mechanical three-dimensional refill FSSW model was built using DEFORM-3D. The temperature results from the refill FSSW numerical model are in good agreement with the experimental results. Three-dimensional material flow during plunging and refilling stages is analysed in detail and compared to experimental microstructure and hardness results. The simulation results obtained from the refill FSSW model correspond well with the experimental results. The developed 3D numerical model is able to predict the thermal cycles, material flow, strain, and strain rates which are key factors for the identification and characterization of zones as well for determining joint quality.

Finite Element Analysis of Extrusion Process for Magnesium Alloy Internal Threads with Electromagnetic Induction-Assisted Heating and Thread Performance Research

The casting magnesium alloy AZ91D cannot be extruded at room temperature. This paper presents a process for extruding internal threads using AZ91D heated by electromagnetic induction. The feasibility of the process is verified by finite element simulation and experiments. Using DEFORM-3D to simulate the process of extruding a M12 × 1.25 mm threaded hole by electromagnetic induction-assisted heating, the equivalent stress-strain and material flow law in the process of thread deformation was analyzed and verified by experiments. Three parameters-hole diameter, machine speed and heating temperature-were considered to study the influence of different process conditions on the forming torque. The results show that a heating temperature above 523 K can improve the plasticity of AZ91D. The hole diameter has an important influence on the forming torque. The forming process is not suitable for high-speed machining. The surface metal of the thread formed by this process has a strong deformation layer, which can improve the strength and hardness of the thread.