Improved Extrudability of High Strength Alloys Using an Optimization Method Based on a Combination of Experiments and FEM Software

Abstract

Numerical analysis of the material flow during the extrusion process for high alloyed variants of the AA 6xxx series is presented in this paper. The analysis was performed by using the commercial FE code Forge2011®. Another issue considered in the paper was an interrelation between the die geometry and the critical extrusion process variables. For optimization of the die exit geometry, the model was produced with the use of linked equation in SolidWorks® combined with Mode FRONTIER. Several extrusion trials were performed to provide a basis for the verification of simulation results as extrusion temperature, speed and force. For the purpose, rods of a model alloy designated as AlMgSi4, based on an industrial AA6082 aluminium alloy with significantly higher silicon content, were extruded. A good correlation between measured and calculated results was obtained. This approach may enable simplifying when dealing with design of a new alloy.