3D thermomechanically coupled FEM analysis of large disk rolling process and trial production

Recently, rolling technique used to manufacture rings with various dimensions, shapes, and materials is innovated to a revolutionary technique for the fabrication of large disks. In this paper, in order to study the forming capability of this novel method, its principle was introduced, and the 3D thermomechanically coupled FE model was established using the dynamic explicit code ABAQUS/Explicit. Considering the adaptive treatment of boundary conditions, the user subroutines of ABAQUS were explored based on the movement law of the guide rolls and profiled axial rolls, and contacts between these rolls and the disk component. And the reliability of the FE model was verified theoretically and experimentally. Furthermore, the extending rule of plastic deformation zone and the effect of feed speed on the size of both the outer and inner diameters were investigated. The main results show that (1) the smallest equivalent plastic strain (PEEQ) occurs at the hub of the disk and the junction of the rim and the web, and the larger PEEQ appears on the outer surface of the rim and the web of disk. (2) Both the outer and inner diameters of the disk increase gradually at the beginning stage and more and more rapidly at a later stage. With the increase of the feed rate, the increase rate of both the outer diameter and inner diameter will decrease and the lateral spread rate will increase. And trial production of the large disk based on the analysis had been carried out successfully on the revamped Wagner RAW500/400 radial-axial ring rolling mill.