Isothermal precision forging of complex-shape rotating disk of aluminum alloy based on processing map and digitized technology

Isothermal precision forging of complex-shape aluminum alloy rotating disk of airplane was systematically investigated by means of digitized technology based on computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided engineering (CAE) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). The constitutive equation of 7A09 aluminum alloy under hot compression was established in order to understand the flow behavior of the metal material during isothermal precision forging. 7A09 aluminum alloy frequently exhibits dynamic recovery in the case of low strain rate, while it can also be characterized by dynamic recrystallization in the case of high strain rate. According to dynamic material model, the hot processing map of 7A09 aluminum alloy was obtained to optimize the process parameters which lead to the stable flow of the metal material during isothermal precision forging. Based on the different preforms, finite element method (FEM) was used to simulate the metal flow and predict the forming defects during isothermal precision forging of rotating disk. By controlling the metal flow, the high-quality rotating disk forging was manufactured on the basis of the proper preform through digitized technology. The simulated results are in good accordance with the experimental ones. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.