Project Sponsor: McWilliams Forge Co., Inc.
Principal Investigator: Sven K. Esche
Graduate Research Assistant: Tolga Kurtul
Amount: $18,000
Project Duration: September 1, 1998 - August 31, 1999
Project Summary: The proposed project will provide a thorough understanding of the grain size evolution during the hot forging process for a variety of aerospace materials and under a wide set of thermomechanical processing conditions. The project will establish a model for the quantitative prediction of the grain size distribution by correlating strain, stress and temperature data obtained from FEM simulations with experimentally measured grain sizes. In particular, the primary parameters effecting the grain size have been identified, and their effects will be investigated and quantified: grain size distribution in the initial billet, upsetting ratio, pre-heating temperature of the billet, and friction conditions at the workpiece - die interfaces.