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Improvement of microstructure in forging of a connecting rod by means of finite element simulations
Author(s) -
Karhausen Kai,
Kopp Reiner
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
steel research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1869-344X
pISSN - 0177-4832
DOI - 10.1002/srin.199501765
Subject(s) - forging , microstructure , die (integrated circuit) , materials science , metallurgy , mechanical engineering , austenite , engineering
Precipitation hardening ferritic pearlitic steels are used in forged engine and undercarriage components in the automotive industry. The required properties are attained by controlled cooling from forging heat, saving time and cost consuming heat treatments. Therefore, before phase transformation the desired austenitic condition has to be attained during the preceding forming operations. Designing multi‐step forging schedules with a view to avoiding inhomogeneities by conventional trial and error strategies is time consuming, expensive and does not always lead to optimum results. It is therefore desirable to gain information on the evolving microstructure of a process by means of computer simulations. An enhanced process layout can then be found by variation computations. In the present work such a model is introduced and applied to the production of a connecting rod of steel 49MnVS3. The computed results are compared to industrial trials and the optimization of an existing process is demonstrated.