Analysis of void closure during open die forging process of large size steel ingots

Abstract

Large size forged ingots, made of high strength steel, are widely used in aerospace, transport and energy applications. The presence of internal voids in the as-cast ingot may significantly affect the mechanical properties of final products. Thus, such internal defects must be eliminated during first steps of the open die forging process. In this paper, the effect of in-billet void positioning on void closure throughout the ingot breakdown process and specifically the upsetting step in a large ingot size steel is quantitatively investigated. The developed Hansel-Spittel material model for new high strength steel is used in this study. The ingot forging process (3D simulation) was simulated with Forge NxT 1.0® according to existing industrial data. A degree of closure of ten virtual existing voids was evaluated using a semi-Analytical void closure model. It is found that the upsetting process is most effective for void closure in core regions and central upper billet including certain areas within the dead metal zone (DMZ). The volumetric strain rate is determined and two types of inertial effects are observed. The dependence of void closure on accumulated equivalent deformation is calculated and discussed in relation to void in-billet locations. The original combination of information from both relative void closure and the volumetric strain rate provides a way to optimize the forging process in terms of void elimination.