Distortions in Large Aluminum Forgings: Current Situation and Simulation Challenges

Abstract

Distortions after machining of large aluminum forgings are a recurrent problem for the aeronautical industry. These deviations from design geometry are caused by the presence of residual stresses, which are developed along the manufacturing chain. To solve this problem, a series of post-machining operations called reshaping are required. Despite reshaping manages to restore the correct geometry, it is highly manual and time-consuming, therefore, there is a need at an industrial level to use numerical simulation to study reshaping. The present document describes the problem of distortion, the operations required to mitigate these geometrical defects and the challenges associated to simulate reshaping.