Abstract
The study presents the concept of physical modelling together with the characterization of the modelling materials as well as the possibilities of applying this type of physical simulation methods for the analysis, design and optimization of industrial metal forming processes. The paper discusses the crucial similarity conditions between the physical model and the real process necessary to transform the results into industrial processes. Physical modelling is one of the most popular as well as cheapest methods of analyzing metal plastic forming processes and it can constitute an easy independent verifying tool. It can also be a competitive alternative or supplementation, or a quick verification, of the popular yet relatively expensive methods based on a broadly understood mathematical apparatus, e.g. the finite element method or various types of computer science techniques. The method provides the possibility to define the stress and deformation distribution, estimate the force parameters of the given process as well as localize the dead zones and material flow errors. On the example of a forward extrusion process, the study demonstrates the effect of matching the model material to two metallic materials: annealed aluminum and reinforced aluminum. Additionally, for reinforced aluminum, numerical modelling was performed, which made it possible to determine e.g.: the force parameters and the material flow manner. Next, based on physical modelling, verification through numerical modelling was made of the boundary and tribological conditions, as physical modelling revealed a so-called dead zone in the corner of the die, which had not been recorded in numerical modelling.
Possibilities of Using Physical Modeling With Soft Materials to Analyze and Optimize Metal Forming Processes
