A new free surface scheme for analysis of plastic deformation in shape rolling

A new steady-state, three-dimensional finite element-based process model is presented for the prediction of the deformation behaviour of the workpiece in shape rolling. Described are a finite element formulation for the analysis of the plastic deformation, new schemes for tracing the streamlines and predicting the free surface, and the structure of the process model. The model is applied to multi-pass rolling to obtain a round bar from a square billet, to assess the prediction accuracy. Also demonstrated is the model’s capability to deal with rolling of a complex-shaped part.