Elasto-plastic finite element simulation of rolling and compression between wedge-shaped dies

Many problems arise when simulating large strain and metal forming applicat ions using Lagrangian and Eulerian finite element (FE) formulation methods. A more general method, the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method is d eveloped to overcome such difficulties. A brief description of the ALE form ulation is given with emphasis on the underlying differences between the de veloped formulation and existing formulations in the literature. The genera l ALE method is applied to simulate compression between wedge-shaped dies. A plane-strain strip rolling example is also investigated with emphasis on the practical simulation of various rolling parameters. The example is anal yzed using an Eulerian formulation which is degenerated from the general AL E formulation. The results are compared with available numerical and experi mental results. Special attention is given to the numerical characteristics of the simulation, the application of the boundary condition and their eff ect on the results. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.