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Controlling of material flow in the quasi-bulk forming of thin-walled corrugated rings through optimization of contact pressure

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Abstract

Corrugated rings made of difficult-to-deform superalloy sheet with extremely thin wall are hardly manufactured since the forming processes are rather sensitive to parameters, such as axial feeding, cavity pressure, contact pressure, and so forth. The quasi-bulk forming method proposed in the author’s previous work, which gets rid of axial compression, was demonstrated to be an effective solution. In this work, forming strategy based on the controlling of material flow in this process is further developed. Since the pressure-carrying medium (i.e., viscous medium) is of high viscosity, the sealing pressure of this process is lowered down in comparison with that of forming processes utilizing nonviscous fluid as forming medium. The contact pressure at blank ends becomes adjustable as a result. Effects of contact pressure at sealing/blank interface (P m ) on the blank draw-in were investigated numerically. An optimal load path of P m was obtained. Regulatory mechanism of contact pressure was presented, and contact pressure was considered to be the resultant pressure caused by the static pressure (P s ) and cavity pressure (P v ). Thereafter, process optimization was conducted through adjusting the path of P v to approximate to the optimal path of P m . On the basis of that, geometrical parameters of die cavity were improved and forming experiments were conducted accordingly to form two sorts of nickel-based superalloy corrugated rings. Sufficient blank draw-in was observed and thickness thinning is acceptable. The forming strategy, which is based on the adjustment of contact pressure, was verified to be feasible to improve the manufacturability of thin-walled corrugated rings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory for Precision Heat Processing of Metals, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China

    Nan Xiang, Zhong-jin Wang, Jun Yi & Hui Song

Authors
  1. Nan Xiang
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  2. Zhong-jin Wang
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  3. Jun Yi
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  4. Hui Song
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhong-jin Wang.

Additional information

By employing viscous medium as forming medium instead of fluid or gas, sealing limit of the quasi-bulk forming process is lowered down.

Forming window of corrugated rings manufacturing process is extended due to the decrease of sealing limit.

The contact pressure at blank ends can be adjusted to adapt to the material flow in the forming process.

Based on this forming strategy, two types of nickel-based superalloy parts were manufactured, which validates the feasibility.

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Xiang, N., Wang, Zj., Yi, J. et al. Controlling of material flow in the quasi-bulk forming of thin-walled corrugated rings through optimization of contact pressure. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 91, 2077–2088 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-016-9728-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-016-9728-4

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