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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 WARM DEEP DRAWING Weight reduction while maintaining functional requirements is one of the major goals of engineering design and manufacturing so that materials, energy, and costs are saved and environmental damage is reduced. Magnesium (Mg) and Aluminum (Al) alloys offer great potential to reduce weight by displacing the most commonly used materials, i.e. steel and polymers, because of their high strength to weight ratio. Other important factors in selecting Mg and Al alloys for engineering applications, compared to other engineering materials include their thermal properties, damping capacity, fatigue properties, dimensional stability and easy machinability. Besides Al and Mg, it is important to mention weight reduction can also be achieved by using thinner gauge steels (high strength steel, stainless steel) and forming then using advanced forming processes. The use of forming technology for Al and Mg alloy sheet is restricted because of the low formability of these materials especially at room temperature. Therefore, advanced forming methods are needed in order to improve their formability. Some improvement is believed to be obtained when drawing at elevated temperatures (warm forming). Investigation of the formability limits of aluminum sheet is done by using this advanced forming technique. This study focuses on the design and development of forming process with emphasis on a) material properties, b) deformation mechanics c) the forming temperatures, d) the interface condition (friction, lubrication and heat transfer), e) the tool temperature, f) tooling/ equipment design, and g) constant and variable forming speed (or strain rate); 2) the influence of the forming equipment (servo motor driven press) on the process and the final product and 3) computational modeling of the process. Al alloys show increased formability especially at temperature range of 200oC to 300oC. Currently

formed Al alloy components find applications only as shallow parts in automobile body panels and chassis applications because of their low room temperature formability. Warm forming technology for Al alloys has been investigated for 6xxx series Al alloys show increased formability at the range of 250 oC to 300 oC. However, there is a lack of sufficient knowledge on warm sheet forming processes which limited the practical use of these alloys.
1.1.1 Advantages of Warm Working

When compared to cold working: 1. Fewer forming steps 2. Reduced forming loads 3. Energy savings due to elimination of in-process anneals When compared to hot working: 1. Improved dimensional control 2. Higher quality surfaces 3. Lower energy costs Warm working has already been successfully applied to forging of steel on a commercial value. We are trying to study its feasibility in sheet metal forming. 1.1.2 What is drawing? Drawing is a metal forming process in which a product is made by controlling sheet metal flow into a cavity and over a punch. The process of deep drawing means that the part must be taller than its minimum width Drawing can be better defined as the process of displacing pre existing surface into alternate shaped vessel containing nearly the same surface area. Stretching can be defined as the increase of surface area that results in a product with more surface area than the original surface area. Drawing requires the metal to feed inward toward the punch. Very little or no metal flow

takes place during stretching, however, keep in mind that because drawing does require tension to pull the metal inward, some stretching occurs during drawing. The key in deep drawing is to limit the amount of metal stretching and thinning that takes place. Items such as oil pans require significant drawing and stretching achieving a deep drawn product that exhibits very little metal thinning requires extensive knowledge of sheet metal properties, drawing ratios, radii and friction Deep drawing is a compression-tension metal forming process in which a steel metal blank is radially drawn into a forming die by the mechanical action of a punch it is thus a shape transformation process with material retention. Common shapes for deep drawn products include cylinders for aluminum cans and cups for baking pans irregular items such as enclosure covers for truck oil filters and fire extinguishers, kitchen sink are also commonly by the deep drawing method. Industrial uses of deep drawing processes include automotive body and structural parts, aircraft components, utensils and white goods, complex parts are normally formed using progressive dies 1.1.3 Basic Drawing Components The deep drawing process is not directional-specific. In other words the direction in which the drawing takes place really doesnt matter, you can draw a part up or down into a cavity. You can even draw a part vertically using cams or special vertical motion presses Drawing direction must be given careful attention because it affects the ability to move cut, and eject the part in the die, if drawing is incorporated into a progressive die, the drawing direction also may affect the die and strip carrier design.

1.1.3.1 Die Set or Foundation This could be made of mild steel cast iron or aluminium. It serves as the guided foundation on which allow the metal forming sections will be mounted. 1.1.3.2 Draw Cavity The draw cavity represents the drawing die female portion. Usually made from tool steel or solid carbide, it serves as the cavity on which the metal is formed. 1.1.3.3 Ejectors-Knockouts These pressure loaded components serve to push or eject the part from the draw cavity; a high pressure knockout must be timed properly so that it pushes the part out of the cavity after the die has fully separated. If the knockout is timed incorrectly, the part can be crushed during the return stroke of the press. An alternate method to using a knockout is to use a small ejector pin and a lightweight spring. This spring must have enough force to eject the part adequately but not deform it during the press return stroke. The pin and spring method does not require specific timing. However, keep in mind that certain part geometries require a great deal of force to eject from the cavity. In such cases, timid high pressure knockout may be necessary. 1.1.3.4 Air Vents Air can be trapped during drawing. This trapped air must be vented out of the tool. Not venting the air can cause defective parts, splitting and wrinkling as well as make it difficult to strip the drawn part from the cavity It is critical that both of the cavity and punch contain air vents. Air vents in the cavity allow trapped air to escape during the down stroke of the press; air vents in the punch allow air to be pulled into the punch, which prevents suction during the part stripping process.

1.1.3.5 Die Face The die face is the surface surrounding the cavity. It can be a flat or a contoured surface. This surface interfaces with the sheet metal keeps it from wrinkling during the drawing process. The die face typically is made of tool steel or carbide and is highly polished in the direction of metal flow. 1.1.3.6 Draw Punch This component represents male shape of the drawn part geometry like the cavity it usually is made of tool steel in most cases it is polished to a mirror like surface. However, there are times when a rough surface is desired. 1.1.3.7 Blank Holder This pressure loaded plate, which serves to keep the metal from wrinkling during the drawing process typically, is loaded with gas springs. However certain drawing dies can achieve the force needed to control flow through the use of a press cushion. 1.1.3.8 Pressure System The pressure system supplies the force necessary to control metal flow. It may consist of gas, coil, hydraulic or urethane springs. Certain drawing dies utilize a press cushion to obtain the needed pressure. A press cushion is a plate or series of vertically moving thick, flat plates mounted the press bolster plate. These plates transfer the force to the bottom of the draw pad using a cushion pin. 1.1.3.9 Equalizer Block The block functions to maintain a specific gap between a die face and the draw pad surface, it is allow for minor adjustments to be made with respect to how much pressure is being applied to the blank Most advanced drawing components, such as draw and bars, will be discussed in future articles in the series. The next installment will discuss how a drawing operation works and will

design exploring the factors that control drawing die success Deep drawing is the manufacturing process of forming sheet metal stock, called blanks, into geometrical or irregular shapes that are more than half their diameters in depth. Deep drawing involves stretching the metal blank around a plug and then moving it into a moulding cutter called a die. 1.2 NEED FOR WARM DEEP DRAWING: Deep drawing process at room temperatures, especially of high strength / low formability metal has serious difficulties because of the large amount of deformations revealed and high flow stresses of the materials mentioned. Thus crumples, wrinkles and earings will occur on the product surface because of the anisotropy of the materials. Elevated temperatures decrease the flow stresses and increase the formabilities of the materials and thus deformation become easier. The effective basic mechanism in pressing is plastic deformation. Because of this, deformation temperature has to be determined by taking this point to consideration. 1.2.1 PARAMETERS OF WARM DEEP DRAWING PROCESS: The parameters of the deformation process at elevated temperatures can be summarized as follows: 1. Temperature 2. Temperature gradient, 3. Strain rate (L) 4. Strain rate sensitivity index (m), 5. Material properties, i.e., modulus of elasticity and its forming qualities. In general parameters that effect formability can be enumerated as follows: flow stress, maximum strength, total elongation, plastic deformation, direction dependent anisotropy, hardening parameter, strain rate, chemical composition, cold/hot rolling, and thermo mechanical material history.

1.3

FRICTION STIR WELDING

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) was invented at The Welding Institute (TWI) of the

United Kingdom in 1991 as a solid-state joining technique and was initially applied to aluminum alloys. The basic concept of FSW is remarkably simple. A nonconsumable rotating tool with a specially designed pin and shoulder is inserted into the abutting edges of sheets or plates to be joined and subsequently traversed along the joint line. The FSW tool rotates in the counterclockwise direction and travels left to right.

Fig 1.2 Schematic Drawing of Friction Stir Welding The tool serves three primary functions, that is, heating of the work piece, movement of material to produce the joint, and containment of the hot metal beneath the tool shoulder. Heating is created within the work piece both by friction between the rotating tool pin and shoulder and by severe plastic deformation of the work piece. The localized heating softens material around the pin and, combined with the tool rotation and translation, leads to movement of material from the front to the back of the pin, thus filling the hole in the tool wake as the tool moves forward. The tool shoulder restricts metal flow to a level equivalent to the shoulder position, that is, approximately to the initial work piece top surface.

As a result of the tool action and influence on the work piece, when performed properly, a solid-state joint is produced, that is, no melting. Because of various geometrical features on the tool, material movement around the pin can be complex, with gradients in strain, temperature, and strain rate. Accordingly, the resulting nugget zone microstructure reflects these different thermomechanical properties and is not homogeneous. In spite of the local micro structural inhomogeneity, one of the significant benefits of this solid-state welding technique is the fully recrystallized, equiaxed, fine grain microstructure created in the nugget by the intense plastic deformation at elevated temperature. The fine grain microstructure produces excellent mechanical properties, fatigue properties, enhanced formability and exceptional superplasticity.

TOOL ROTATION

TOOL FRICTION

TOOL PLUNGE

FRICTION WELDING

Fig 1.3 Friction Stir Welding Process

1.3.1 Weld Zones in FSW The system divides the weld zone into distinct regions, as follows: Unaffected material or parent metal: This is material remote from the weld that has not been deformed and that, although it may have experienced a thermal cycle from the weld, is not affected by the heat in terms of micro structure or mechanical properties. Heat-affected zone (HAZ): In this region, which lies closer to the weld-center, the material has experienced a thermal cycle that has modified the microstructure and/or the mechanical properties. However, there is no plastic deformation occurring in this area. Thermomechanically affected zone (TMAZ): In this region, the FSW tool has plastically deformed the material, and the heat from the process will also have exerted some Influence on the material. In the case of aluminum, it is possible to obtain significant plastic strain without recrystallization in this region, and there is generally a distinct boundary between the recrystallized zone (weld nugget) and the deformed zones of the TMAZ. Weld nugget: The fully recrystallized area, sometimes called the stir zone, refers to the zone previously occupied by the tool pin. The term stir zone is commonly used in friction stir processing, where large volumes of material are processed.

Fig 1.4 Various Microstructural regions in the transverse cross section of a friction stir welded material. A- Unaffected material or parent metal; B- Heat-affected zone; CThermomechanically affected zone; D- Weld nugget

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FSW can be applied to most geometric structural shapes and to various types of joints, such as butt, lap, T-butt, and fillet shapes. The most convenient joint configurations for FSW are butt and lap joints. 1.3.2 Key Benefits Of Friction Stir Welding: Metallurgical benefits Solid-phase process Low distortion Good dimensional stability and repeatability No loss of alloying elements Excellent mechanical properties in the joint area Environmental benefits No shielding gas required Minimal surface cleaning required Eliminate grinding wastes Eliminate solvents required for degreasing Energy benefits Improved materials use (e.g., joining different thickness) allows reduction in weight Only 2.5% of the energy needed for a laser weld Fine recrystallized microstructure Absence of solidification cracking Replace multiple parts joined by fasteners Weld all aluminum alloys Post-FSW formability

Consumable materials saving, such Decreased fuel consumption in lightweight aircraft, automotive, as rugs, wire, or any other gases No harmful emissions and ship applications.

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1.3.3 Friction Stir Welding - Applications Shipbuilding and marine industries The process is suitable for the following applications: Offshore accommodation, Marine and transport structures, Masts and booms, e.g. for sailing boats, Refrigeration plant etc. Aerospace industry The process could also be used to increase the size of commercially available sheets by welding them before forming. The friction stir welding process can therefore be considered for: Wings, fuselages, empennages Cryogenic fuel tanks for space vehicles, Aviation fuel tanks, External throw away tanks for military aircraft, Military and scientific rockets, Repair of faulty MIG welds, Various primary and secondary structural components etc. Railway industry The commercial production of high speed trains made from aluminium extrusions which may be joined by friction stir welding has been published. Applications include: High speed trains, Rolling stock of railways, underground carriages, trams, Railway tankers and goods wagons, Container bodies and many more. Land transportation Existing and potential applications include: Engine and chassis cradles, Fuel tankers, Caravans, Buses and airfield transportation vehicles, Motorcycle and bicycle frames, articulated lifts and personnel bridges, Repair of aluminium cars, Magnesium and magnesium/aluminium joints etc. Other industry sectors Friction stir welding can also be considered for: Electric motor housings (in production),

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Refrigeration panels, Cooking equipment and kitchens, Gas tanks and gas cylinders, Connecting of aluminium or copper coils in rolling mills, Furniture and many other applications.

1.5 FINITE ELEMENT MODEL (ABAQUS) 1.5.1 Product overview ABAQUS is a suite of powerful engineering simulation programs, based on the finite element method that can solve problems ranging from relatively simple linear analyses to the most challenging nonlinear simulations. It has an equally extensive library of material models that can simulate the behavior of most typical engineering materials including metals, rubber, polymers, composites, reinforced concrete, crushable foams and geotechnical materials such as soils and rock. It can simulate problems in such diverse areas as heat transfer, mass diffusion, thermal management of electrical components (coupled thermal-electrical analyses), acoustics, soil mechanics (coupled pore fluid-stress analyses), and piezoelectric analysis. ABAQUS is simple to use even though it offers the user, a wide range of capabilities. Even the most complicated analysis can be modeled easily. In the most of simulations, the user need provide only the engineering data, such as the models geometry, material behavior, boundary conditions, and applied loads. ABAQUS automatically chooses appropriate time incrementation and makes continuous adjustments during the analysis to ensure accuracy as well as efficiency. The user rarely has to control the solution aspects of the analysis. 1.5.2 The Abaqus finite element system

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The heart of ABAQUS is the analysis solver module, ABAQUS/Standard and ABAQUS/Explicit, which are complementary and integrated analysis tools. ABAQUS/CAE incorporates the analysis modules into a Complete ABAQUS Environment for modeling, managing, and monitoring ABAQUS analyses and visualizing results. The ABAQUS finite element system includes: ABAQUS/Standard, a general-purpose finite element program. It provides a large number of capabilities for analyzing many different types of problems, including many nonstructural applications. ABAQUS/Explicit, an explicit dynamics finite element program. ABAQUS/CAE, an interactive preprocessor that can be used to create finite element models and the associated input file for ABAQUS. ABAQUS/Viewer, a menu-driven interactive postprocessor that provides x-y plots, animations, contour plots, and tabular output of results from ABAQUS/Standard and ABAQUS/Explicit. 1.5.3 Modules in Abaqus The various modules in ABAQUS are, Part module Property module Assembly module Step module Interaction module Load module Mesh module Job module Visualization module

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1.5.4 Getting started with Abaqus A complete ABAQUS/Standard analysis usually consists of three distinct stages: preprocessing, simulation, and post processing. These three stages are linked together by files as shown in Figure 1.1.

Preprocessing ABAQUS/CAE or other software

Input file

Simulation ABAQUS/Standard

Output Files Filename.odb, Filename.dat, Filename.res, Filename.fil

Post Processing ABAQUS/CAE or other software

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Figure 1.1 A complete ABAQUS/Standard analysis

1.5.5 Processing (ABAQUS/CAE) In this stage the model of the problem must be defined and an ABAQUS input file is created. The model is usually created graphically using ABAQUS/CAE or another preprocessor, although the ABAQUS input file for a simple analysis can be directly using a text editor. 1.5.6 Simulation (ABAQUS/STANDARD) The simulation, which normally is run as a background process, is the stage in which ABAQUS/Standard solves the numerical problem defined in the model. Examples of output from a stress analysis include displacements and stresses that are stored in binary files ready for post processing. Depending on the complexity of the problem being analyzed and the power of the computer being used, it may take anywhere from seconds to days to complete an analysis run. 1.5.7 Post Processing (ABAQUS/CAE) The results can be evaluated once the simulation has been completed and the displacements, stress, or other fundamental variables have been calculated. The evaluation is generally done interactively using the Visualization module of ABAQUS/CAE or another postprocessor. The Visualization module, which reads the neutral binary output database file, has a variety of options for displaying the results, including color contour plots, animations, deformed shape plots, and X-Y plots.

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1.6 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT Project aims at: Deep drawing of parent sheet metal and friction stir welded aluminium alloys at an elevated temperature and study the formability, flow stress distribution and uniform thinning effect by varying the process parameters. Warm deep drawing in to cylindrical shape of aluminium alloy sheet. Friction stir welding of parent sheet metal. Formation of cylindrical shape from parent sheet metal and friction welded sheet (butt joint) Study the flow stress distribution depending on temperature for higher limiting drawing ratio. Study the process parameters, ie temperature, forming rate, blank holder pressure, friction between blank and tool element. Formability study on warm deep drawing on parent metal and friction stir welded sheet by varying the process parameters.