Numerical Simulation and Parameter Optimization for Semi-solid Powder Rolling of Al–Cu–Mg Alloy

Abstract

With advantages of powder metallurgy and semi-solid forming, Semi-solid powder rolling (SPR) as a novel technology was proposed and has been widely used to produce high-performance strips currently. As SPR is an extremely complex process and influenced by many factors, consequently it is necessary to be researched by the simulation method to study the forming process and various influence laws, in order to save experimental time and cost. Therefore, in this work, a two-dimensional model was built based on the Shima-porous yield criterion by using Marc software, considering the effect of temperature and relative-density on thermal conductivity, heat capacity, elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio. The semi-solid rolling process of Al–Cu–Mg alloy powder was simulated by the model, and the relative-density and rolling-force of strips were calculated and proven by experiments, which are basically consistent with the measured values. Based on this model, the influence of main parameters on SPR strips was analyzed. The results show that the rolling temperature of strips increases with the roller temperature increasing, and changes little with the variation of the compression ratio, rotational velocity and friction factor. The rolling-force reduces with the increase in roller temperature and the decrease in compression ratio, rotational velocity and friction factor. The relative-density rises as the four parameters increase. According to the results, it is suggested that a moderate roller temperature, a relatively large compression ratio and a small rotational velocity are recommended during the actual rolling, which provides a theoretical guidance for semi-solid powder forming experiments.