Optimal Process Design in Hot Forging in Terms of Grain Flow Quality

With the improvement in the accuracy of simulation and computation time, the need for the application of optimization technique in designing process parameters is increasing and is being realized in some fields. However, two obstacles are still preventing the optimization technique from being practically used in forging process. The one is the lack of quantification technique of grain flow quality and the other is difficulty in treating 3 dimensional die shape as design parameters. In this study, 3 kinds of quantification technique of grain flow quality, the overlapping index, cutting index and locally sinking index, are introduced based on the relation between grain flow and product quality. Also, a methodology of treating 3 dimensional die shape as the design parameters is introduced using discretized finite element model.