Forging simulation using adaptive meshing

Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of meal using localized compressive forces. Forging usually involves substantial material flow which requires special techniques for analysis. The traditional Lagrangian formulation fails to give satisfactory solution as mesh becomes distorted extensively and contact interaction cannot be treated correctly. Therefore ALE adaptive meshing is used for forging simulation to make sure a a high-quality mesh is maintained throughout the analysis. ALE adaptive meshing technique smooths the mesh by re-positioning nodes.

This is a challenging problems as it involves multiple nonlinearities: material nonlinearity, geometric nonlinearity and contact between multiple components. As the geometries and loads are axisymmetric, the problem will be analyzed using an axisymmetric model. The analysis is performed using explicit solver.

Note: This exercise is part of the Solving Non-linear Problems with Abaqus course.

The traditional Lagrangian formulation fails to give satisfactory solution as mesh becomes distorted extensively and contact interaction cannot be treated correctly.

When the ALE adaptive meshing is used, it maintains reasonable element shapes and aspect ratios.  The figure shows the refinement of mesh as deformation takes place at different time increments.

As the punch moves downward, material undergoes high plastic strains. The figure shows the distribution of equivalent plastic strain at the end of forging simulation.

The contour plot shows the distribution of logarithmic strain at the end of simulation.

The following animation shows the evolution of logarithmic strain and equivalent plastic strain as the billet is deformed.

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