Component residual stress control in forward rod extrusion by material flow and tribology—experiments and modeling

Abstract

AbstractThe forward rod extrusion of ferritic stainless steel X6Cr17 (DIN 1.4016) is here investigated with the objectives to experimentally identify and numerically verify the effect of the lubrication system and die opening angle on residual stresses. Three lubricants – MoS2, soap and polymer – are considered whose tribological properties are characterized via double cup extrusion tests. The effect of material flow is also studied by forming in conical dies featuring three different opening angles. The extrusion experiments revealed a decrease in the near-surface tensile stresses with decreasing friction for all the considered opening angles. An opening angle of 2α = 90° led to the highest tensile residual stresses. Both an increase to 2α = 120° and a decrease to 60° resulted in reduced tensile stresses and even a shift to compressive stresses.Furthermore, a previously developed numerical model of forward rod extrusion is optimized and validated against the experimentally measured residual stresses. The effect of the spatial and temporal discretizations of the model on the predicted residual stresses is investigated. Based on the experimental and numerically verified results, the recommendation to reduce friction in forward rod extrusion is derived as a means to obtain a less detrimental to the lifecycle of extruded parts residual stress state.