Three-Dimensional Rigid-Plastic FEM Simulation of Bulk Forming Processes with New Contact and Remeshing Techniques

Some techniques such as die surface description, contact judgement algorithm and remeshing are proposed to improve the robustness of the numerical solution. Based on these techniques, a three-dimensional rigid-plastic FEM code has been developed. Isothermal forging process of a cylindrical housing has been simulated. The simulation results show that the given techniques and the FEM code are reasonable and feasible for three-dimensional bulk forming processes.

HEXAHEDRAL ELEMENT REFINEMENT FOR THE PREDICTION- CORRECTION ALE FEM SIMULATION OF 3D BULKINGFORMING PROCESS

Based on the characteristics of 3D bulk forming process, the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation-based FEM is studied, and a prediction-correction ALE-based FEM is proposed which integrates the advantages of precisely predicting the boundary configuration of the deformed material, and of efficiently avoiding hexahedron remeshing processes. The key idea of the prediction-correction ALE FEM is elaborated in detail. Accordingly, the strategy of mesh quality control, one of the key enabling techniques for the 3D bulk forming process numerical simulation by the prediction-correction ALE FEM is carefully investigated, and the algorithm for hexahedral element refinement is formulated based on the mesh distortion energy.

Simulation of bulk metal forming processes using one-step finite element approach based on deformation theory of plasticity

The bulk metal forming processes were simulated by using a one-step finite element(FE)approach based on deformation theory of plasticity,which enables rapid prediction of final workpiece configurations and stress/strain distributions.This approach was implemented to minimize the approximated plastic potential energy derived from the total plastic work and the equivalent external work in static equilibrium,for incompressibly rigid-plastic materials,by FE calculation based on the extremum work principle.The one-step forward simulations of compression and rolling processes were presented as examples,and the results were compared with those obtained by classical incremental FE simulation to verify the feasibility and validity of the proposed method.

Gibbs Free Energy and Activation Energy of ZrTiAlNiCuSn Bulk Glass Forming Alloys

The Gibbs free energy differences between the supercooled liquid and the crystalline mixture for the (Zr_(52.5)Ti_5Al_(10)-Ni_(14.6)Cu_(17.9))_((100-x)/100)Sn_x (x=0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) glass forming alloys are estimated by introducing the equationproposed by Thompson, Spaepen and Turnbull. It can be seen that the Gibbs free energy differences decrease firstas the increases of Sn addition smaller than 3, then followed by a decrease due to the successive addition of Snlarger than 3, indicating that the thermal stabilities of these glass forming alloys increase first and then followed by adecrease owing to the excessive addition of Sn. Furthermore, the activation energy of Zr_(52.5)Ti_5Al_(10)Ni_(14.6)Cu_(17.9) and(Zr_(52.5)Ti_5Al_(10)Ni_(14.6)Cu_(17.9))_(0.97)Sn_3 was evaluated by Kissinger equation. It is noted that the Sn addition increases theactivation energies for glass transition and crystallization, implying that the higher thermal stability can be obtainedby appropriate addition of Sn.

Finite element simulation of aluminum alloy cross valve forming by multi-way loading

Deformation behavior,temperature evolution and coupled effects have a significant influence on forming process and quality of component formed,which are very complex in forming process of aluminum alloy 7075 cross valve under multi-way loading due to the complexity of loading path and the multiplicity of associated processing parameters.A model of the process was developed under DFEORM-3D environment based on the coupled thermo-mechanical finite element method.The comparison between two process models,the conventional isothermal process model and the non-isothermal process model developed in this study,was carried out,and the results indicate that the thermal events play an important role in the aluminum alloy forming process under multi-way loading.The distributions and evolutions of the temperature field and strain filed are obtained by non-isothermal process simulation.The plastic zone and its extension in forming process of cross valve were analyzed.The results may provide guidelines for the determination of multi-way loading forming scheme and loading conditions of the forming cross valve components.

Effects of Heating Rate on the Process Parameters of Superplastic Forming for Zr_(55)Cu_(30)Al_(10)Ni_5

We investigated the effects of heating rate on the process parameters of superplastic forming for Zr55Cu30Al10Ni5 by differential scanning calorimetry. The continuous heating and isothermal annealing analyses suggested that the temperatures of glass transition and onset crystallization are heating rate-dependent in the supercooled liquid region. Then, the time-temperature-transformation diagram under different heating rates indicates that increasing the heating rate can lead to an increase of the incubation time at the same anneal temperature in the supercooled liquid region. Based on the Arrhenius relationship, we discovered that the incubation time increases by 1.08-1.11 times with double increase of the heating rate at the same anneal temperature, and then verified it by the data of literatures and the experimental results. The obtained curve of the max available incubation time reveals that the incubation time at a certain anneal temperature in the supercooled liquid region is not infinite, and will increase with increasing heating rate until this temperature shifts out of the supercooled liquid region because of exceeding critical heating rate. It is concluded that heating rate must be an important processing parameter of superplastic forming for Zr55Cu30Al10Ni5.

Adaptive finite element-element-free Galerkin coupling method for bulk metal forming processes

An adaptive finite element-element-free Galerkin (FE-EFG) coupling method is proposed and developed for the numerical simulation of bulk metal forming processes. This approach is able to adaptively convert distorted FE elements to EFG domain in analysis. A new scheme to implement adaptive conversion and coupling is presented. The coupling method takes both advantages of finite element method (FEM) and meshless methods. It is capable of handling large deformations with no need of remeshing procedures, while it is computationally more efficient than those full meshless methods. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated with the numerical simulations of the bulk metal forming processes including forging and extrusion.

Effects of B addition on glass forming ability and thermal behavior of FePC-based bulk metallic glasses

The FePC-based bulk metallic glasses（BMGs）have been demonstrated to possess high plasticity and good soft magnetic properties.However,the relatively poor glass forming ability（GFA）and thermal stabilities limited their application in industries.The effects of microalloying with B in FePC-based BMGs on the GFA and thermal behaviors were systematically investigated.It was found that a small amount of B addition can dramatically enhance the GFA of FePC-based BMGs,which in turn leads to the critical maximum diameter up to 2 mm for full glass formation even using low cost raw materials.The underlying mechanism of the enhancement of GFA from the competing crystalline phase with amorphous phase,the average thermal expansion coefficient and dynamic viscosity were discussed in detail.

Rapid Finite Element Analysis of Bulk Metal Forming Process Based on Deformation Theory

The one-step finite element method （FEM）, based on plastic deformation theory, has been widely used to simulate sheet metal forming processes, but its application in bulk metal forming simulation has been seldom investigated, because of the complexity involved. Thus, a bulk metal forming process was analyzed using a rapid FEM based on deformation theory. The material was assumed to be rigid-plastic and strain-hardened. The constitutive relationship between stress and total strain was adopted, whereas the incompressible condition was enforced by penalty function. The geometrical non-linearity in large plastic deformation was taken into consideration. Furthermore, the force boundary condition was treated by a simplified equivalent approach, considering the contact history. Based on constraint variational principle, the deformation FEM was proposed. The one-step forward simulation of axisymmettic upsetting process was performed using this method. The results were compared with those obtained by the traditional incremental FEM to verify the feasibility of the proposed method.

Analysis of Sheet Metal Extrusion Process Using Finite Element Method

Sheet bulk metal forming processes have been widely developed to the facilitate manufacture of complicated 3D parts. However, there is still not enough know-how available. In this paper, as one of the typical sheet bulk metal forming processes, the sheet metal extrusion process was studied. A reasonable finite element method （FEM） model of sheet metal extrusion process taking the influence of flow-stress curve with wide range of plastic strain and ductile damage into consideration was established and simulated by an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian （ALE） FEM implemented in MSC.Marc. Validated by comparing the results with experiment, some phenomenological characteristics, such as metal flow behavior, shrinkage cavity, and the influence of different combinations of diameter of punch, diameter of extrusion outlet, and diameter of pre-punched hole were analyzed and concluded, which can be used as theoretical fundamental for the design of the sheet metal extrusion process.

表征镁基非晶合金形成能力参数的评价

为了研究合金的物理、化学性质对非晶合金形成能力的影响,采用统计学方法研究了原子尺寸差σ、电负性差Δx、τ和φ各参数对镁基非晶合金形成能力的影响。结果表明:σ、Δx、τ和φ可有效表征镁基非晶合金形成能力,且以二次函数的拟合方式可比线性方式更好地描述合金原子堆垛密度、原子间的键合强度与非晶形成能力之间的关系,并可作为共晶团簇理论设计合金成分的参考标准和判定非晶形成能力和稳定性的理论依据;τ和φ充分考虑到了原子尺寸、电负性、元素百分比等物理因素对非晶合金形成过程的影响,准确地表征原子堆垛密度和原子间的键合强度,与临界制备尺寸的拟合程度优于其他表征参数,且具有计算简单和稳定性高的特点。

Determination of Flow Curve and Plastic Anisotropy of Medium-thick Metal Plate:Experiments and Inverse Analysis

Sheet bulk metal forming is widely used for medium thick metal plate due to its convenience in the manu- facture of accurately finished 3D functional components. To obtain precise anisotropy and flow curve of metal plate is a prerequisite for correct simulation of sheet bulk metal forming processes. Inverse analysis of compression test was introduced here to evaluate the sensitivity of different flow curve models and geometric influence of compression test specimen. Besides, a methodology was proposed to compute plastic anisotropic coefficients of Hill quadratic yield cri- terion, which is based on the ratios of flow curves obtained by inverse analysis of compression tests using specimens cut in six directions on the medium-thick metal plate. The obtained flow curves and anisotropic coefficients were compared with those calculated from tensile tests. Flow curves based on inverse analysis of compression tests cover the curves of the tensile tests well, while the anisotropic coefficients are different, especially for the coefficient relat- ed to the RT45 direction. To estimate the effectiveness of the proposed method, the calculated material properties and those based on the traditional tensile tests were applied in a rim-hole process simulation. The simulation results based on the material properties from inverse analysis of compression tests accorded with the tested properties better.

Direct TEM Observation of Phase Separation and Crystallization in Cu_(45)Zr_(45)Ag_(10)Metallic Glass

The structural evolution of Cu_（45）Zr_（45）Ag_（10） metallic glass was investigated by in situ transmission electron microscopy heating experiments. The relationship between phase separation and crystallization was elucidated. Nucleation and growth-controlled nanoscale phase separation at early stage were seen to impede nanocrystallization, while a coarser phase separation via aggregation of Ag-rich nanospheres was found to promote the precipitation of Cu-rich nanocrystals.Coupling of composition and dynamics heterogeneities was supposed to play a key role during phase separation preceding crystallization.