Simulation and experimental validation of multiple-step wire drawing processes

This paper presents an experimental analysis and a numerical simulation of the mechanical behaviour experienced by a steel rod during multiple-step wire cold-drawing processes. To this end, a set of tensile experiments is firstly carried out in order to characterise the material hardening evolution for different consecutive wire reductions. The experimental procedure also encompasses the measurement of drawing forces in a multiple-step process conducted at a laboratory scale under different drawing velocities. Then, this problem is simulated via a finite element formulation that accounts for both large viscoplastic strains and friction effects. The results obtained with the simulation are experimentally validated. Finally, the influence of specific operating conditions, such as the decrease of the number of wire reductions and the presence of back tension, on the material response during the whole process is numerically assessed. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.