AN INVESTIGATION OF THE MUSHY STATE FORGING PROCESS BY THE FINITE-ELEMENT METHOD

The behaviour of alloys in the mushy state depends on the imposed stre ss state and on the morphology of the phase, which can vary from a den dritic to a globular. The characteristics in the simulation of the mus hy state materials are estimated by the finite element method with the proposed algorithm. The theoretical model and arbitrarily shape die f or the forging process are investigated for the simultaneous calculati on both the liquid flow and the solid deformation. As for the forging analysis using the mushy state materials, a new stress-strain relation ship is described by the how stress equation considering the separatio n coefficient, and the forging analysis with arbitrary shape is perfor med by the visco-plastic model for the solid phase and the Darcy's law for the liquid how. The calculated results for the stress and strain in the forging process will be compared with the experimental data. (C ) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.