Control of Forming Behavior Through Inhomogeneous Billet Heating in Cross-Wedge Rolling

Cross-wedge rolling is a forming process, particularly suitable for preforming in stage planning. In this process, the billet is traditionally uniformly heated in a furnace or by means of an induction furnace.

During the cross-wedge rolling process, various rolling defects can occur, affecting the quality of components throughout the entire manufacturing process chain. One of the main causes is insufficient process stability, leading to slipping or uneven torsion of the billet. These issues result from local variations in material flow paths during the cross-wedge rolling process. The material in the wedge region flows significantly differently than outside the wedge, resulting in torsion and quality problems. Inhomogeneous heating is a suitable approach to adapt the material's flow properties to the cross-wedge rolling tool. This enables the enhancement of process stability and minimization of rolling defects.

Furthermore, inhomogeneous billet heating offers the advantage of reducing local scale formation, improving the surface quality of the end product. The heating strategy of inhomogeneous billet heating for cross wedge rolling has not been comprehensively researched thus far.

The research objective is to determine the influence of this inhomogeneous billet heating on the cross-wedge rolling process to significantly enhance rolling quality and process stability. Targeted heating techniques are employed to generate different flow stresses in the billets, thereby deliberately influencing the forming behavior and improving the rolling process.

The project is divided into two main goals: first, the simulation-based identification of parameter effects on rolling quality and process stability; second, the experimental verification of these influences, as the simulation of forming processes with inhomogeneously heated billets has not been sufficiently explored.