Influence of dynamic recrystallization on microstructure and mechanical properties of welding zone in Al-Mg-Si aluminum profile during porthole die extrusion

The effect of dynamic recrystallization(DRX)on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 6063 aluminum alloy profile during porthole die extrusion was studied through experiment and simulation.The grain morphology was observed by means of electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD)technology.The results show that,at low ram speeds,increasing the ram speed caused an increase in DRX fraction due to the increase of temperature and strain rate.In contrast,at high ram speeds,further increasing ram speed had much less effect on the temperature,and the DRX faction decreased due to high stain rates.The microhardness and fraction of low angle boundaries in the welding zones were lower than those in the matrix zones.The grain size in the welding zone was smaller than that in the matrix zone due to lower DRX fraction.The decrease of grain size and increase of extrudate temperature were beneficial to the improvement of microhardness.

Study on inhomogeneous cooling behavior of extruded profile with unequal and large thicknesses during quenching using thermo-mechanical coupling model

The interfacial heat transfer coefficient between hot profile surface and cooling water was determined by using inverse heat conduction model combined with end quenching experiment. Then, a Deform-3 D thermo-mechanical coupling model for simulating the on-line water quenching of extruded profile with unequal and large thicknesses was developed. The temperature field, residual stress field and distortion of profile during quenching were investigated systematically. The results show that heat transfer coefficient increases as water flow rate increases. The peak heat transfer coefficient with higher water flow rates appears at lower interface temperatures. The temperature distribution across the cross-section of profile during quenching is severe nonuniform and the maximum temperature difference is 300 ℃ at quenching time of 3.49 s. The temperature difference through the thickness of different parts of profile first increases sharply to a maximum value, and then gradually decreases. The temperature gradient increases obviously with the increase of thickness of parts. After quenching, there exist large residual stresses on the inner side of joints of profile and the two ends of part with thickness of 10 mm. The profile presents a twisting-type distortion across the cross-section under non-uniform cooling and the maximum twisting angle during quenching is 2.78°.

Cross-section distortion and springback characteristics of double-cavity aluminum profile in force controlled stretch-bending

3D elastic-plastic FE model for simulating the force controlled stretch-bending process of double-cavity aluminum profile was established using hybrid explicit−implicit solvent method.Considering the computational accuracy and efficiency,the optimal choices of numerical parameters and algorithms in FE modelling were determined.The formation mechanisms of cross-section distortion and springback were revealed.The effects of pre-stretching,post-stretching,friction,and the addition of internal fillers on forming quality were investigated.The results show that the stress state of profile in stretch-bending is uniaxial with only a circumferential stress.The stress distribution along the length direction of profile is non-uniform and the maximum tensile stress is located at a certain distance away from the center of profile.As aluminum profile is gradually attached to bending die,the distribution characteristic of cross-section distortion along the length direction of profile changes from V-shape to W-shape.After unloading the forming tools,cross-section distortion decreases obviously due to the stress relaxation,with a maximum distortion difference of 13%before and after unloading.As pre-stretching and post-stretching forces increase,cross-section distortion increases gradually,while springback first decreases and then remains unchanged.With increasing friction between bending die and profile,cross-section distortion slightly decreases,while springback increases.Cross-section distortion decreases by 83%with adding PVC fillers into the cavities of profile,while springback increases by 192.2%.

Influence of heat treatment conditions on bending characteristics of 6063 aluminum alloy sheets

Bending deformation behaviors of solution treated(ST),natural aged(NA)and T6tempered6063aluminum alloy sheetswere studied by three-point bending tests.The changes of bending force,interior angle,bending radius and sheet thickness in thefillet region were analyzed by experimental measurements and numerical simulations.The results showed that the bendingcharacteristics were strongly dependent on the heat treatment conditions.The T6alloy sheets were bent more sharply and localplastic deformation occurred severely in the fillet region.However,the ST and NA alloy sheets exhibited relatively uniform bendingdeformation and large bending radius.The bending force of T6alloy was the highest,followed by the NA alloy and that of the STalloy was minimum.After unloading,as compared with the ST and NA alloys,the springback of T6alloys was markedly larger.Theaging time showed a positive sensitivity on the springback and non-uniform bending deformability.The bending characteristics areattributed to the combined effects of yield strength,yield ratio and coefficient of neutral layer.