Research Proposal for Internship in the Doctor in Mechanical Science and Engineering

Program at Hiroshima University

Subject title:
WEAR OPTIMIZATION OF HOT FORGING DIES BY FEM NUMERICAL
SIMULATION

OBJECTIVE
Develop an optimization methodology that allows to prevent the wearing and increase the
life of hot forging dies by using finite element simulation. This methodology includes the
development of the FE simulation and its validation by forging experiments for the
calibration of wear models to optimize the die design and forging process parameters.

BACKGROUND
Nowadays in metal forming processes, forging is one of the most popular for the massive
manufacture of components due to forged products exhibits excellent mechanical properties
with a small amount of waste reducing the cost of the components. Bulk metal forming
processes are characterized by significant deformations and massive shape changes, and the
surface area to volume relation of the workpiece is relatively small [1]. Cost of forging tooling
has proved to be one of the most critical factors in the overall process cost. Die costs range from
10% to 15% of the whole process cost [2]. This includes the cost of die material, machining the
dies and subsequent heat treatment when this is applied.
Recent studies presented by [2], indicates that the use of ceramic or metallic dies with surface
treatment represents a cost-effective technique for improving the die life by minimizing the
wearing effects.
Due to this, several efforts have been made to describe and predict the wear behavior of
forging tools [2, 3, 4]. Several models had been proposed to describe the wear phenomena,
most of them based on the Archar's equation [5], which is constructed in terms of the sliding
distance, resistance to abrasion and wear coefficients. However, Archar’s model neglects the
thermal softening effects generated by the decreasing of die hardness with the number of
operations in hot forming processes. For this reason, reduce the number of press-forming
stages by an optimum multi-stage process methodology is of central importance for
increasing the tool life and reduce the manufacturing costs and time. [6].
Nevertheless, die life is still a central aspect in forging process [7], several studies focused
on the cavity shape show that about 70% of all die failures are associated with abrasive wear,

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and more than 25% are due to mechanical and thermal fatigue, gross cracking and plastic
deformation.
Although some recent research works results show the improvements in the tools life, still
exist many challenges related to achieve the net-shape requirement in precision forging [8],
for example:
 A few research works intending to reduce the wearing of tools and improve the filling
of cavities by using optimization techniques have been presented.
 The works done until now have been focused on a particular case of study and do not
represent a guideline for the design of the die.
 In FE simulation, the die-workpiece interface conditions (i.e., friction and heat
transfer) are assumed as constants in the current analysis using the Archard´s model,
which affect the accuracy of the wear prediction.

RESEARCH PLAN
The main objective of this research plan is the develop, establish, and validate a methodology
which allows improving the hot forging dies working life by an accurate prediction of the
wearing mechanisms using the finite element simulation. This includes the following:

1. Review of the state of the art

This activity pretends to determine parameters and their influence on the wearing of tools
(i.e., friction, thermal softening behavior, hardness reduction) to define an optimization
strategy that is convenient for the specific problem and its implementation in the finite
element code.
2. Finite element model development
Establish an accurate finite element framework that allows predicting the initial state of
stress, strains, and wear in the selected cases of study.
3. Development of the optimization methodology
Using a user´s subroutine, the optimization method will be implemented into explicit FE
code.
4. Numerical validation of the proposed methodology
A comparative analysis of the experimental results and those obtained by the proposed
methodology will be performed.

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EXPECTED RESULTS
The expected results are listed as follows:
 Publish at least two international papers in JCR journals.
 Present a conference paper in one international conference
 Scientific report at the end of the internship.

CHRONOGRAM
The chronogram for proposed activities is as follow:
Activity 2019 2020
Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April May June July August Sept
Review of state of the art
related to wear and
optimization
FE model framework
Optimization
methodology
Numerical validation
Final report

References

[1] M. P. Groover, Fundamentals of modern manufacturing, Third ed., John Wiley & Sons
INC, 2007.

[2] B. Behrens and F. Schaefer, "Prediction of wear in hot forging tools by means," Journal
of Materials Processing Technology, no. 167, pp. 309-315, 2005.

[3] B. Behrens, "Finite element analysis of die wear in hot forging processes," CIRP Annals
- Manufacturing Technology, vol. 57, pp. 305-308, 2008.

[4] F. Tancsics, L. Solecki and E. Halbritter, "Development of a new wear test method for
hot forming," Acta technica Jaurinensis , vol. 6, no. 2, 2013.

[5] J. Archard, "Contact and rubbing of flat surfaces," J. of applied physics, vol. 24, no. 8,
pp. 891-898, 1953.

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[6] R. Hino, A. Sasaki, F. Yoshida and V. Toropov, "A new algorithm for reduction of
number of press-forming stages in," International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, no.
50, pp. 974-983, 2008.

[7] S. Chander and V. Chawla, "Failure of Hot Forging Dies –An Updated Perspective,"
Materials today: proceedings, vol. 4, pp. 1147-1157, 2017.

[8] Y. Shao, B. Lu, D. Xu, J. Chen, H. Ou, H. Long and P. Guo, "Topology-based preform
design optimization for blade forging," Int J Adv Manuf Technol, vol. 86, no. 5-8, p.
1593–1605, 2016.

[9] ASM International, Handbook of Workability and Process Desing, G. Dieter, H. Kuhn
and S. Semiatin, Eds., OH USA, 2003, p. 380.

[10] T. Altan, O. Soo-ik and G. Harold, Metal forming fundamental and applications, OH:
ASM, 1983.

[11] M. Deshpande, A. Groseclose and T. Altan, Selection Of Die Materials And Surface
Treatments For Increasing Die Life In Hot And Warm Forging, Columbus OH, N.D.