Microstructure evolution of magnesium alloy grid panel during press bending based on cellular automata theory

Abstract

Abstract Magnesium alloy integral panel parts is an important application prospect in the aerospace field. The cellular automata theory was used researching microstructural change law of Mg alloy panel during bending forming. The numerical simulation geometric model is established. The material properties and press bending forming parameters of Mg alloy panel are determined. Microstructure evolution of Mg alloy grid panel during bending forming is studied by numerical simulation method. The research results indicate that the microstructure of Mg alloy grid panel is effectively improved, and grains are significantly refined, with which the maximum refining degree is reaching 48.5%. With the increase in press height, the dynamic recrystallization degree is obviously enhanced, and grain size of grid panel part decreases accordingly. With the rise in bending forming temperature, grain size of grid panel increases slowly. In different positions of panel structure, the change of microstructure is different. Grain size is the smallest at intersection in grid panel ribs, and the grain size is the largest at the centre of the grid. The simulation results of grain size of Mg alloy grid panel using cellular automata theory are near to experimental results, and relative errors are less than 6.35%.