3-DIMENSIONAL FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS ON OPEN-DIE BLOCK FORGING DESIGN

Three-dimensional rigid-plastic finite element method was used to analyze the practice of open-die block forging, focusing on the effects of die configurations and forging pass designs. Four combinations of die configurations were investigated: conventional flat dies, top flat/bottom V-shaped dies, and double V-shaped dies with 120 and 135 deg included angles. Two different pass designs, 90 and 180 deg rotation angles between succeeding passes, were applied to each die set. The results include the magnitude and distribution of effective strains along the center line of the cylindrical workpiece and the final shape of the workpiece. Good agreement was observed in comparison with experimental data from physical modeling method, and several suggestions were made for choosing suitable dies.