Automatic optimization design of a feeder extrusion die with response surface methodology and mesh deformation technique

Abstract

During the extrusion process of aluminum alloy profiles, scientific and reasonable design of extrusion dies affects directly on the product qualified rate, production efficiency, and cost. In this work, for a 7N01 aluminum alloy beam profile used in high-speed train, the response surface method (RSM) and mesh deformation technique (MDT) are applied to automatically optimize the feeder chamber of the extrusion die. With implanted material physical properties and constitutive model of this alloy, the numerical simulation of the extrusion process is firstly carried out and verified experimentally. Then, RSM is used to optimize seven different geometric variables of the feeder chamber and to narrow the variables’ ranges. On the basis of above optimization, MDT is finally applied to automatically optimize the feeder chamber. After optimization, the velocity distribution in the cross section of the profile tends to more uniform. The standard deviation of the velocity field decreases from 7.83 to 2.47 mm/s with the reducing rate of 68.46%. More importantly, the automatic optimization process with mesh deformation technique is explored in this work, which could provide an effective and potential means for the automatic optimization design of three-dimensional dies or products in other fields.