Investigation on Deformation Behavior in the Surface of Metal foil with Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted Micro-Forging

Excitation of the acoustic field leading to the Blaha effect affects the plasticity of the material significantly in ultrasonic vibration-assisted forming. In a micro-forming field, the effects are more significant in the deformation in surface of materials [1]-[3], in which reduction of the surface roughness based on the increasing of plastic deformation of surface asperity was effective [4]. On the other hand, the effect on deformation behavior of the bulk region indicted reduction in the yield stress of materials, and not only acoustic effect [5], but also impact effect is found to generate a large amount of dislocation and produce plastic deformation [6][7]. However, the effect on the bulk is more significant as that on the surface. Differences in the effect on the surface and the bulk are not clarified. In this study, the mechanism of the deformation in the surface of the material with ultrasonic vibration assistance is investigated and compared with that in the bulk. Forging tests using a newly developed ultrasonic vibrator were carried out on pure Cu foils with various process conditions. The longitudinal vibration frequency of the ultrasonic transducer is 60∓2kHz, and the vibration amplitude is in an adjustable range of 0~10μm. Forging test was carried out at different initial stress, specimen size and amplitude. The difference in acoustic softening and impact effects on the surface and the bulk was discussed.

Ultrasound Effect on the Microstructure and Hardness of AlMg3 Alloy under Upsetting

To date, numerous investigations have shown the beneficial effect of ultrasonic vibration-assisted forming technology due to its influence on the forming load, flow stress, friction condition reduction and the increase of the metal forming limit. Although the immediate occurring force and mean stress reduction are known phenomena, the underlying effects of ultrasonic-based material softening remain an object of current research. Therefore, in this article, we investigate the effect of upsetting with and without the ultrasonic vibrations (USV) on the evolution of the microstructure, stress relaxation and hardness of the AlMg3 aluminum alloy. To understand the process physics, after the UAC (ultrasonic assisted compression), the microstructures of the samples were analyzed by light and electron microscopy, including the orientation imaging via electron backscatter diffraction. According to the test result, it is found that ultrasonic vibration can reduce flow stress during the ultrasonic-assisted compression (UAC) process for the investigated aluminum–magnesium alloy due to the acoustic softening effect. By comparing the microstructures of samples compressed with and without simultaneous application of ultrasonic vibrations, the enhanced shear banding and grain rotation were found to be responsible for grain refinement enhancement. The coupled action of the ultrasonic vibrations and plastic deformation decreased the grains of AlMg3 alloy from ~270 μm to ~1.52 μm, which has resulted in a hardness enhancement of UAC processed sample to about 117 HV.

Analytical Prediction and Experimental Investigation of Burnishing Force in Rotary Ultrasonic Roller Burnishing Titanium Alloy Ti–6Al–4V

Ultrasonic burnishing is usually applied to make machined surface modification. The acoustic softening effect caused by ultrasonic vibration is beneficial to the machining of difficult-to-cut materials. In the present work, a burnishing force prediction model was proposed for rotary ultrasonic burnishing of titanium alloy Ti–6Al–4V, whose surface had been machined with the face milling process. Firstly, the contact between the burnishing roller and one single milling mark was analyzed with plane strain assumption based on the Boussinesq–Flamant contact problem. Then, the effect of ultrasonic softening on the yield stress of Ti–6Al–4V was investigated. The critical contact width and contact load that the burnishing roller crushed on one single milling mark were examined to confirm the feasibility of the proposed ultrasonic burnishing force prediction model. The experimental verifications were carried out at various ultrasonic powers. The burnishing forces from experiment measurements were consistent with the calculated results from the proposed model. The mean deviations between theoretical and experimental results of the ultrasonic burnishing force were 10.4%, 12.2%, and 15.2%, corresponding to the ultrasonic power at the level of 41 W, 158 W, and 354 W, respectively.

Investigation on Microsheet Metal Deformation Behaviors in Ultrasonic-Vibration-Assisted Uniaxial Tension with Aluminum Alloy 5052

Ultrasonic vibration (UV) is widely used in the forming, joining, machining process, etc. for the acoustic softening effect. For parts with small dimensions, UV with limited output energy is very suitable for the microforming process and has been gaininf more and more attention. In this investigation, UV-assisted uniaxial tensile experiments were carried out utilizing GB 5052 thin sheets of different thicknesses and grain sizes, respectively. The coupling effects of UV and the specimen dimension on the properties of the material were analyzed from the viewpoint of acoustic energy in activating dislocations. A reduction of flow stress was found for the existing acoustic softening effects of UV. Additionally, the residual effects of UV were demonstrated when UV was turned off. The uniform deformation ability of thin sheet could be improved by increasing the hardening exponent with UV. The experimental results indicate that UV is very helpful in improving the forming limit in microsheet forming, e.g., microbulging and deep drawing processes.

Value of a second seismic monitor in late stages of field development at Holstein

A second seismic monitor survey acquired after nine years of production at Holstein Field was used successfully to define new wellbore sidetracks to target unswept areas in two of the main producing reservoirs (J2 and K1). The asset team and the technology group worked together to investigate the quality and interpretability of the 4D signal between the first and second monitor surveys. The method consisted of conducting a quality check of the acquisition and processing steps, modeling the amplitude variation with offset responses using existing wells to determine the response to fluid effects, and finally extracting and creating amplitude difference maps between monitor surveys for each reservoir. The interpretation of the 4D amplitude differences, combined with the analysis of production and pressure data from historical injector and producer wells, resulted in the decision to target what was interpreted to be a partially swept J2/K1 reservoir compartment by the aquifer in the southern part of the field. Well #12 was drilled in that target and encountered oil pay in both reservoirs, with low levels of water saturation. Another J2 area in the northern part of the field was interpreted to have remained partially unswept by water injectors, although seismic acoustic softening over that portion of the field suggested that it was still benefiting from injection pressure support. Well #11 was drilled in that northern portion of the field and encountered an oil-bearing reservoir with water saturation near preproduction levels and a reservoir pressure approaching original reservoir pressure, hence confirming repressurization.