DETERMINATION OF THE STRAIN HARDENING LAW OF ELECTROLITIC COPPER PROCESSED BY WIREDARWING

Abstract

In the industrial process of multi-stage sequential drawing, the previously annealed wire is passed through a series of rows arranged consecutively by means of a traction system, progressively reducing its section while its length increases, causing the metal to harden. In the present work a complete study of the material has been made, before and during the multi-stage wiredrawing process, to know the evolution of its main mechanical properties when being processed by drawing in successive stages. The results obtained have allowed to establish a hardening law with great utility to predict the plastic behaviour of this metal when it is transformed by this process. The study has been completed with a series of FEM simulations performed on the method of finite element analysis which have allowed to implement the behaviour law established from the experimental work and analyze the sequential process by numerical method. Key Words: wire drawing, electrolytic copper, finite element method, mechanical properties, strain hardening