Metal flow in bearing section during extrusion process of L, C and T sections

Abstract

Conventionally, various metal sections are extruded using flat‐faced dies. This results in metal flow‐related defects such as bending, twisting, tearing and thinning. As a result, time consuming and expensive post‐extrusion operations are needed to obtain acceptable dimensional quality of the product. This paper describes the application of a newly developed rigid‐plastic FEM code to the extrusion of sections and shows the results of metal flow simulation. The results are used for predicting the geometric defects and reducing them through modification of the bearing land and the position of die opening. This procedure is applied to the extrusion of L, C and T sections and the influence on the metal flow of some variables like friction coefficient, aspect ratio of product's cross‐section, bearing land length and position of die opening is studied. The results are presented making emphasis on the study of the axial velocity distribution in the bearing land.