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The effect of process parameters on the creep-fatigue behavior of a hot-work tool steel for aluminum extrusion die was investigated through a technological test in which the specimen geometry resembled the mandrel of a hollow extrusion die. Tests were performed on a Gleeble thermomechanical simulator by heating the specimen using joule’s effect and by applying cyclic loading up to 6.30 h or till specimen failure. Displacements during the tests at 380, 490, 540 and 580°C and under the average stresses of 400, 600 and 800 MPa were determined. A dwell time of 3 min was introduced during each of the tests to understand the creep behavior. The results showed that the test could indeed physically simulate the cyclic loading on the hollow die during extrusion and reveal all the mechanisms of creep-fatigue interaction.

Although the extrusion process is regarded as a continuous process, in practice billets are discretely loaded into the press. The joining of two consecutive billets is guaranteed by the high hydrostatic pressure of the process. Nevertheless, mechanical proprieties of the profile in the welded region are lower than those of the adjacent area thus leading to the discarding of the welded segment. Extension of the segment is mainly affected by the interaction of seam and charge welding phenomena and, nowadays, its prediction is still a tricky task involving rough empirical relations or labour intensive analyses. Aim of this work was to identify the starting and exhausting points of the charge welds evolution inside an industrial multi-profiles die, in order to determine the exact position and the minimal length to be scraped. The extrusion of four AA6060 hollow profiles through a multi-hole die were preliminary monitored in an industrial press by accurate recording of the process loads, temperatures and speeds during the process. The four profiles were sectioned starting from the ‘stop mark’ then grinded and etched in order to investigate the location and the dimension of the zone to be ridded. While the experimental activity is detailed elsewhere, this paper is focused on the finite element modelling of the process. The numerical simulation was performed by means of the Altair HyperXtrude code and predictions compared to experimental data with a particular focus on the computation of the charge evolution. It was found a good agreement both in terms of general trend and prediction of the exhausting points so thus proving the code to be a reliable tool for an accurate determination of the scraps.

Tools are exposed to severe working conditions during the hot extrusion process. In particular, dies and mandrels can be subjected to an excessive amount of deformation as a result of the developed high cyclic loads and temperatures. In this scenario, a physical experiment reproducing the thermo-mechanical conditions of a mandrel in a porthole die was performed with the Gleeble machine on the AISI H11 tool steel with the aim to investigate the mechanisms that influence the die deformation. The design of experiment consisted of 4 levels of temperature, 3 levels of stress and 3 types of load, i.e. pure creep, pure fatigue and creep-fatigue. In all the testing conditions, a comparable pattern of the mandrel displacement-time curve was found reproducing the 3 stages of softening typical of the strain evolution in a standard creep test but with a marked primary phase. Thus, with the aim to identify an easy-applicable equation to estimate the die deformation, the time hardening creep law was chosen. Coefficients of the time-hardening law were optimized, for each testing condition, on the basis of experimental data starting from values for similar alloys taken from the literature. Results in terms of mandrel displacement were then compared to experimental data for the creep-fatigue condition at different stress and temperature levels. The values found were validated against additional experimental data performed with different specimen geometries. A good average agreement was found between experimental and numerical results. The developed procedure was then applied to an industrial die.

Aim of an extrusion die is to allow the production of the profile with the required dimension tolerances and quality level. One of the main impediment to achieve this aim could be an excessive die deformation due to the high cyclic loads and temperatures acting on the die during the extrusion process. In order to investigate the mechanisms that influence the die deformation, a physical experiment reproducing the thermo‐mechanical conditions of a die was performed on a martensitic tool steel used for extrusion tools (AISI H11). The design of experiment consisted of 4 levels of temperature, 3 levels of stress and 3 types of load, i.e. pure creep, pure fatigue and creep‐fatigue. In all cases, the same pattern of the mandrel displacement‐time curve was found consisting of 3 stages as those typical of the strain evolution in a standard creep test with a marked primary phase. Thus, with the aim to define an easy‐applicable equation to estimate the die deformation, the time hardening creep law was chosen. In order to obtain the temperature gradient within the specimen coupled thermo‐electric simulations were previously performed. The nodal temperature have been then imported within the structural model and the mechanical properties assigned to the each element as a function of these values. Coefficients of the time‐hardening law were optimized, for each testing condition, on the basis of experimental data starting from values for similar alloys found in literature. The values found were validated against additional experimental data performed with different specimen geometries. A good average agreement was found between experimental and numerical results.

The present study was aimed to analyze the effect of loading cycles on the behaviour of the AISI H11 tool steel commonly used for aluminium extrusion dies working at high temperatures and under high, cyclic stresses. A technological test method in which the specimen geometry resembled the mandrel of a hollow extrusion die was developed. Finite element analyses were performed to aid in determining specimen geometry and dimensions as well as the levels of stress to be applied to the specimen so as to replicate the conditions typically encountered by industrial hollow extrusion dies. Tests were performed on a Gleeble thermomechanical simulator by heating the specimen using Joule's effect and by applying loading for up to 6.30 h or till specimen failure. Displacements during the tests at 380, 490, 540 and 580 °C and under the average stresses of 400, 600 and 800 MPa were determined. The specimens were tested under creep (with the load held at a fixed value), fatigue (cyclic loading) and creep–fatigue (cyclic loading with a 3 min dwell-time) loading, thereby allowing a direct comparison between different deforming mechanisms. The results showed that the test could physically simulate the cyclic loading on the hollow die during aluminium extrusion and that the creep condition represented the most severe working condition. In addition, the tests could reveal the interaction between creep and fatigue mechanisms.

In hot extrusion, die is subjected to complex working conditions as a combination of both high loads and high temperatures. In order to compute the level of damage reached after a fixed number of cycles or the number of cycles to failure, a realistic prediction of the stress entity and distribution is mandatory. In the present work, the comparison of two finite element codes in the predictability of the stress level induced in a die during hot extrusion was presented. The comparison was also supported by experimental investigation. The FE code, DEFORM 3D®, was firstly used to simulate the extrusion process and to predict the force components exerted by the billet on the die. Then, the die stress analysis was performed within the same code. However, only linear tethraedral elements and elastic material model were available. This justified the requirement of a code specifically dedicated to structural analyses in which a wider range of element types and material models could be chosen. Boundary conditions have been transfer between the two FE codes by means of a purposely developed subroutine and the results compared in terms of predicted die deflection and peak Von Mises stress.