FEM ANALYSIS AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH ON COMPLEX-FORMING

Both upsetting and complex forming are simulated using plasticine as a model material, the evolution process of the holes in the cylinders b eing observed, the principle and the expected results of reducing the forming load of the process being analysed by the theory of plasticity , and the strain distribution of the new process being predicted using FEM. The experimental results are found to coincide with the results of the analysis. Complex forming has bright prospects for industrial a pplication. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.