Numerical analysis of tooling design for extruding wide aluminium hollow profiles using multi-container extrusion technology

Jiaxin Lv, Zhusheng Shi (Corresponding Author), Junquan Yu (Corresponding Author), Weishu Li, Jianguo Lin

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Recently a novel multi-container extrusion method has been proposed and proved feasible to simultaneously extrude multiple billets for producing thin-walled wide profiles with reduced force by experiments. Due to its different die structure compared to conventional extrusion methods, the effects of tooling geometries on the multi-container extrusion performance should be comprehensively analysed as the base of die design optimisation. In this study, the original three-container extrusion design and six modified designs were established to investigate the influence of three key geometrical variables, including container diameter, upper die height and welding chamber height, on the extrusion performance through finite element simulation. The considered extrusion performances include metal flow uniformity, extrusion force, welding pressure, die lifetime and material yield. The drawbacks of the original die design were revealed after the primary analysis of the key influencing variables and a three-step way of design improvement was proposed accordingly. Container block and upper die were optimised for the first step; welding chamber height and die bearing length were modified during the second and third steps respectively. Compared with the original design, the final optimised design can decrease the unevenness of the extrudate front shape by 75% and double the material yield, while the extrusion force, die lifetime and welding quality were basically unchanged.

Original languageEnglish
Article number64
Number of pages16
JournalInternational Journal of Material Forming
Volume16
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Aluminium alloy
  • Material flow
  • Numerical simulation
  • Three-container extrusion
  • Tooling optimisation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science

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