Journal of Testing and Evaluation, Vol. 36, No. 4 Paper ID JTE101443 Available online at: www.astm.

org

R. Ganesh Narayanan,1 M. Gopal,2 and A. Rajadurai3

Inuence of Friction in Simple Upsetting and Prediction of Hardness Distribution in a Cold Forged Product

ABSTRACT: Predicting inhomogeneous deformation in any forging process will denitely be helpful in deciding the tool, billet material, lubrication, annealing sequences, and number of stages to make products. In this work, the inuence of varied friction conditions on the hardness and effective strain variation during simple upsetting is studied. Also, hardness variation in a typical cold forging process is predicted by relating hardness and effective strain evolution in a simple upsetting operation empirically. Four different lubricants, viz., castor oil (m=0.33), soap (m=0.25), grease (m=0.2), teon (m=0.16), are considered for experimentation. The friction factors of these lubricants were obtained from a Ring Compression Test (RCT) and are used in FE simulations of upsetting and forging operations. It is found from the analyses that: (1) Teon shows relatively less variation in hardness and effective strain depicting homogeneous upsetting operation, whereas other lubricants show a larger variation in hardness and effective strain in radial and axial directions; (2) hardness is observed to vary linearly with effective strain; (3) the empirical relationship between hardness and effective strain obtained from a simple upsetting operation, which is common for all the lubricants, predicts the hardness distribution during the forging-extrusion process with moderate accuracy. This depends on the interface friction conditions, i.e., solid and semi-solid lubricants with better holdability like Teon and soap show good correlation between experimental and predicted hardness values than liquid lubricant, i.e., castor oil.

KEYWORDS: forging, forming, hardness, lubricant

Introduction Need for Hardness Prediction

Metal forming operations involve a complex interaction of the metal and the dies and equipment used to deform it. The physical phenomena describing a forming operation are difcult to express with quantitative relationships. The metal ow in any metal forming operation is inuenced by the process variables, viz., billet material, tooling, conditions at tool/material interface, deformation zone, equipment, used, and number of stages to make the product. In producing discrete parts, several forming operations are required to transform the initial simple geometry into a complex geometry without causing material failure or undesirable material properties. Inhomogeneous deformation can occur in such forging operations, and leads to failure or reduced fatigue life of the product in service. A prior knowledge about the deformation characteristics in a particular forging process is necessary in deciding the appropriate lubricants, tool/die design, load, forming and annealing sequences. Also, this assists in producing either a homogeneous structure or a prescribed distribution of properties (like hardness, strain, etc.) during the course of deformation. Most of the forged parts are produced in multi-stages that in each stage the product undergoes severe plastic deformation and hence strength/hardness increases because of strain hardening. Sometimes the forged mateManuscript received September 20, 2007; accepted for publication March 10, 2008; published online May 2008. 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Guwahati 781 039, India, e-mail: ganu@iitg.ernet.in. 2 Division of General Engineering, DMI College of Engineering, Palanchur, Nazrethpet (P.O.), Chennai 602 103, India. 3 Department of Production Engineering, Madras Institute of Technology, Chrompet, Anna University, Chennai 600 044, India.

rial becomes so hard that one needs to anneal it before subsequent forging operations to avoid early failure. It is cumbersome and time consuming to measure the properties distribution at every stage to assess the deformation characteristics of the component. Consequently, the most signicant objective of any method of analysis could be to predict the forging behavior at the design stage itself and assist the forming engineer in designing the forming and preforming sequences. For a given operation, such design essentially consists of relating the undeformed part properties with that of the deformed one, either by analytical, numerical predictions or through empirical relations. Hardness is the direct measure of resistance given by the material to plastic deformation and hence is a better candidate to measure the deformation behavior of any cold forged product. If it is possible to predict the hardness distribution at the design stage itself, without performing experiments or with minimum experiments, one can monitor and control the cold forging process in the design stage itself. Moreover, the heterogeneity involved in any forging operation is inuenced by the frictional conditions at the material-die interface. Therefore it is conceivable to say that hardness distribution during the forging operation will also be affected by the interface friction conditions. So, predicting the hardness distribution at the design stage itself, for varied friction conditions, will be of great concern and an interesting point to be explored.

Brief Description of Friction Tests for Cold Forging

This section briey describes two friction tests, Ring Compression Test (RCT) and Double Cup Extrusion (DCE) test, generally used to evaluate the interface friction condition during forging operation. Also the literature status on predicting the hardness distribution during any cold forging operation is presented.

Copyright 2008 by ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959.

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Ring Compression Test (RCT)For dening the friction condition occurring in the metal forming process, it is common practice to follow either the concept of the interface friction factor m (m = / k; where =interface shear strength, and k=shear yield stress of the material) or the Coulombs law concept ( = / P; where =friction coefcient, =interface shear strength, and P=stress normal to interface) [1]. Since m is independent of normal shear stress and friction tests are available to evaluate the m value easily during forging operations, it is widely used to predict the forging behavior. In order to predict the forging behavior of any material, it is necessary to quantify friction factor during the forming process. There are various laboratory friction tests to perform this activity. The most commonly used method for evaluating frictional conditions in cold forging is the Ring Compression Test (RCT). In this test, a thin ring specimen is forged axially (or compressed) between two rigid patterns (top and bottom). As a result, the ring specimen deforms and metal ows in the radial direction such that for low friction conditions (good lubrication) the inner diameter of the ring increases like that of solid sample, while for high friction conditions (poor lubrication) the inner diameter is found to decrease [2]. During compression, the percentage change in inner diameter is measured for every known reduction in sample thickness or height. The calibration curves are drawn between percentage height reduction and percentage change in inner diameter [1]. Thus the curves correspond to varied friction conditions and therefore can be quantied in terms of friction factorm or friction coefcient [3] for standard ring geometry. The popularly used ring geometry is ID: OD: H = 3 : 6 : 2. Since this method (RCT) of friction quantication depends only on the physical measurement of the ring sample and the requirement of forming loads, material properties, etc., are avoided, it is widely accepted to measure friction during bulk forming operation. Some of the factors that inuence the friction factor (or friction coefcient) in RCT are the ring geometry, barreling effect, changing friction condition, strain rate, temperature, percentage reduction, surface conditions, etc., [47] and their effects are listed below.
1. Effect of geometry: With an increase in ring thickness, the friction factor was found to increase for the same lubricant and material. This effect is studied in Ref [4] that for the same temperature 300 K, reduction percentage (app. 40 to 47 %), and material (Al-5Si forged, cast alloy and Al-4Mg forged, cast alloy), the change in ring geometry (thickness) from 6:3:1 to 6:3:2 (OD:ID:H), leads to an increase in the m value for the 6:3:2 case. Effect of barreling: Avitzur in his analyses [8] assumed that there is no barreling (or bulging) effect during ring forging and the calibration curves are developed based on this. But this was disproved by Sofouglu et al. [5,6] that the bulging effect showed signicant effect on the friction factor developed during deformation by conducting experiments on plasticine material. This was demonstrated by monitoring the inner diameter both at the interface and at the middle of thickness for every percentage reduction and the friction coefcient changes are found to be signicant. Effect of changing friction conditions at interface: The RCT calibration curves were developed with the assumption that the friction will remain constant along the interface during forging [8]. But this is not the case as friction conditions change along the interface. This issue of changing friction conditions has not been critically analyzed, but the constant friction factor assumption can be adopted as

FIG. 1Double Cup Extrusion Test [11].

2.

long as the iteration process is carried out using small steps in height reduction and the nal dimensions obtained in one step are considered as the initial geometry for the next step [4]. 4. Effect of strain rate: The strain rate effect on the friction coefcient is also found to be signicant from RCT on plasticine material [5,6] by considering rate dependent and rate independent FE models. 5. Effect of temperature: The temperature effect is quite interesting. Under lubricated conditions, in general, with an increase in temperature, the friction factor is found to increase [4]. This could be because of the change in viscosity of the lubricant at higher temperatures. With an increase in temperature, lubricant viscosity will decrease making it watery and hence holding of lubricant is reduced resulting in a higher friction coefcient (or friction factor). But under dry lubrication, temperature effect is not signicant on friction factor [7]. It should also be noted that in Ref [4], it is mentioned that the effect of temperature on the friction condition is uncertain. In RCT, the die geometry and metal ow are simple, the forging pressure is relatively low, and the new surface generated during deformation is small [9,10]. Therefore, in a ring test the frictional characteristics of the forging lubricant cannot be adequately evaluated. Also, the friction factor evaluated from RCT can be used mainly for open die forging operations, where degree of deformation is less. In order to overcome the problem involved in RCT, a double cup extrusion test was developed [9,10].

3.

Double Cup Extrusion (DCE) TestThe Double Cup Extrusion (DCE) Test (Fig. 1, [11]) involves combined forward and backward extrusion of the billet. In this test, the bottom punch is kept stationary and the top punch is moved in the downward direction, such that it deforms the cylindrical sample as shown in Fig. 1. As a result, both forward and backward extrusion takes place resulting in an H-shaped deformed sample. The ratio of backward h1 to forward h2 extrusion cup heights is controlled by the frictional conditions at the container-billet interface. The calibration curves can be obtained by plotting the height ratio with percentage deformation [9] for varied friction conditions (or friction factors). The tool dimensions involved in the DCE test are given in Ref [10].

NARAYANAN ET AL. ON INFLUENCE OF FRICTION IN A COLD FORGED PRODUCT

The DCE test can be simulated using the FE code and the height ratio h1 / h2percentage deformation data can be obtained for varied friction factors m. By comparing the experimental curves for different lubricants with that of from FE simulations for different friction factors, the m values for lubricants can be evaluated [10]. Also, by comparing the deformation of grids in the extruded specimen experimentally and numerically, one can evaluate the friction factor of the lubricant more accurately [10]. In order to nd the suitability of the ring test and double cup extrusion test, a cold forging process which involves extrusion in the axial direction and upsetting in the radial direction was analyzed with grease lubrication whose m values were obtained both from the ring compression test and double cup extrusion test. The deformed patterns were compared at different stages of the process [12]. It was concluded that the m values given by double cup tests were more appropriate for deformation predictions in cold forging operations. Ring compression tests are suitable for simple upsetting operations [12]. Similar to RCT, factors inuencing the friction factor in DCE test, i.e., billet height, reduction ratio, reduction in area on cup height can be understood from Refs [9,13].

Prediction of Hardness Distribution

Efforts have been taken to predict the hardness change by relating it to plastic strain during forging. The earlier attempt was made by Hartley et al. [14], where in the hardness distribution during Rim Disk forging was predicted by knowing the stress distribution by FE analyses and relating the stress to hardness by a known (Hardness-) relation. But the hardness prediction is not accurate at higher deformation levels. A better approach to predict the hardness distribution was suggested by Kim et al. [15]. In their work, the hardness-effective strain distribution during a simple upsetting test was initially established. Hardness was obtained from experiments and effective strain from FE simulations. Then the effective strain pattern at known regions during cup extrusion was obtained by FE simulations and hardness pattern at the same regions were established using the empirical relationship developed earlier by upsetting tests. Their approach showed good agreement between the experimental and predicted hardness pattern during cup extrusion. Also in their work, an attempt has been made to study the effect of varied friction conditions on the hardness and effective strain variation during simple upsetting. Petruska et al. [16] performed similar work, but their aim was to compare the hardness prediction accuracy between hardness-mean strain and hardnesslocal strain relations during forward extrusion. Both of them agreed well with each other. Recently, analytical models were developed for Brinell hardness and Vickers hardness by Sonmez et al. [17] such that properties obtained from simple compression tests K , n can be directly related to hardness, so that hardness distribution can be evaluated independent of material and deformation. These analytically predicted hardness distributions were related to effective strain predictions from FE simulation empirically. From this, a hardness pattern can be predicted for any cold working operation. It is found that their predictions were accurate and the models developed were quite satisfactory. The authors feel important that the following issues can be addressed during the prediction of the hardness pattern in any cold forging process. The above presented literature relates hardness and effective strain quantities without knowing the effect of varied friction conditions on them during the initial upsetting process. The

basis for projecting this as an issue is because of the dependency of hardness and strain evolution on the varying friction conditions (or lubricants) during upsetting and hence supporting the necessity of understanding the effect of different lubricating conditions on the hardness, effective strain distribution in a simple upsetting process. Though an attempt has been made in Kim et al. [15] to address this issue to some extent, further critical experimental analyses is necessary to make unied conclusions. Relating hardness and plastic strain using a simple upsetting operation and predicting the hardness distribution in a typical forging process using this relationship is explored only for a particular lubricating condition. This methodology is not examined for varied friction conditions. From the published literature, one can say that the same procedure has to be adopted for each lubricant to predict the hardness distribution, which is quite time consuming and cumbersome. Hence, exploring and understanding the applicability of the hardness-plastic strain relationship for varied lubricating conditions is an important issue. The hardness-plastic strain relationship was developed from a simple upsetting process involving only radial metal ow. The applicability of this relation for a cold forging process, say cup extrusion, involving axial metal ow is the general trend. How good the developed empirical relation is for predicting the hardness distribution in a forging process involving both radial and axial metal ow can also be addressed. By considering the above issues as important, the present work aims at: 1. Investigating the inuence of various lubricants (or friction conditions) on the hardness and effective strain variation during the simple upsetting operation. Inter-relating hardness and effective strain evolution in a simple upsetting operation for different lubricants and validating the applicability of this empirical relation for changing lubricating conditions. Validating the applicability of the developed empirical relation for predicting the hardness distribution in a cold forging process which involves both axial and radial metal ow (for different lubricating conditions).

2.

3.

Inuence of Varied Friction Conditions on the Hardness, Effective Strain Distribution During Simple Upsetting Operation
This part of the analysis deals with the effect of friction on the variation of hardness and effective strain in a simple upsetting process for different lubricating conditions. Different lubricants, viz., castor oil m = 0.33, soap m = 0.25, grease m = 0.2, and Teon m = 0.16 are used for performing the experiments. Here, the friction factor m values for the lubricants were obtained through ring compression tests conducted earlier [18].

Selected Material
Commercially available pure aluminum was used as the billet material in this study. In order to ensure identical properties all the test specimens were annealed at 623 K for a period of one hour.

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FIG. 2Schematic representation of location of hardness measurement on an upset sample; axially sectioned sample; surface hardness was measured at the surface center line of the sample ( = location of hardness measurement; not to scale).

Annealing was conducted after the test specimens were machined. In order to ensure uniform hardness distribution before deformation, hardness was measured at three different points in the axial and radial directions. Average hardness of 60 VHN was found in all the test specimens with a variation of 2 VHN. Cylindrical specimens with the dimension of 20 mm diameter and 30 mm height were prepared for conducting simple upsetting tests.

Hardness Test
The distribution of hardness in the cold upset specimen was measured using the Vickers Hardness Tester, which employs a diamond pyramid indenter. Hardness values were measured on the deformed sample at a regular interval of 1.2 mm along the radial direction and 1.3 mm along the axial direction from the geometrical center of the upset specimen. Also, hardness was measured on the top circular face at a regular interval of 1.2 mm from the surface center of the upset specimen. A load of 5 kg for a duration of 10 seconds was used for hardness testing. A schematic representation of the locations of hardness measurement after the simple upsetting operation is shown in Fig. 2. Hardness measurements were performed on both sides of the horizontal and vertical axis. The same experimental procedure was followed for all the lubricating conditions mentioned earlier. Two sets of experiments were conducted for each condition and the average hardness was considered for analyses. The variation of hardness was found to be within 5 VHN with repetitions in all the lubricants.

Flow Curve of the Testing Material

In order to perform the FE simulations, the material properties of the billet (strength coefcient, K, and strain hardening coefcient, n) and stress-strain values should be given as input. Basically, it is assumed here that the metal ow in a cold forging operation follows n where = true stress (MPa), T the constitutive equation, = KT = true strain, K = strength coefcient (MPa), n = strain hardening exponent. In order to establish this constitutive equation, a true stress-true strain graph was drawn by conducting compression tests on pure aluminum billet of size 20 mm diameter and 30 mm height. Load and height deformation values were obtained from a 30-ton hydraulic press. By using volume constancy during plastic deformation, true stress and true strain values were calculated. A graph was drawn between true stress and true strain in log-log plot. The slope of the line gives the n value and the stress at T = 1.0 gives the K value. Teon was used as the lubricant for compression testing which in general gives homogeneous deformation with a lesser bulging effect. The bulging effect is neglected for simplicity. Finally, the constitutive equation was found to be
0.13 = 180T

Effective Strain Evolution During Simple Upsetting Operation

The simple upsetting operation was simulated using a commercial nite element code, DEFORM ver3.0 and the effective strain was predicted. The FE simulations were conducted for 50 % height reduction for four different lubricants with corresponding friction factor m values. The given specimen was discretized into 600 number of elements, which were four-noded quadrilateral in shape. Axisymmetric, plane strain, rigid plastic analyses was performed using simulations. After 50 % height reduction, once the simulation was completed, the effective strains were obtained at the same locations where the hardness (VHN) values were previously obtained through experiments. The same FE simulation procedure was followed for all four lubricating conditions.

This constitutive equation was used as the input for the FE simulations.

Simple Upsetting Test

Commercially available pure aluminum billet (annealed) of size 20 mm diameter and 30 mm height was compressed for different lubricating conditions in a 30-ton hydraulic press. The four lubricants selected for the upsetting process are castor oil, grease, Teon, and soap. The crosshead speed was maintained at 0.1 mm/ s. Upsetting was conducted for 50 % height reduction of the initial billet. After 50 % height reduction, upset specimens were sectioned axially into two halves and the at surface was polished. Hardness values were measured along the axial and radial directions.

Effective Strain
During forging of complex parts, the stress and strain at each point during deformation is of a complex nature, unlike in uniaxial tensile testing. The total strain at any point of the deforming sample involves an elastic and plastic part, i.e., ij = ije + ijp Since the elastic strains are very small, when compared to that of large plastic strains during forging, the total strain can be approxi-

NARAYANAN ET AL. ON INFLUENCE OF FRICTION IN A COLD FORGED PRODUCT

FIG. 3Variation of hardness from the geometrical center to the surface in the radial direction (inset shows the hardness measurement locations schematically).

mated to plastic strains only and hence, ij ijp. The 3-D nature of plastic strain during forging can be represented by a single quantity Effective strain= which is a function of plastic strains in normal and shear directions. The effective strain can be obtained by equating the plastic work done in 1-D to the plastic work done in the general state, i.e., d = 1d 1 + 2d 2 + 3d 3 =1/ 1d 1 So, the plastic strain increment can be written as, d + 2d 2 + 3d 3 . Now, by following von Mises plasticity theory, and normality condition, one can nd the strain increments, viz., d1, d2, d3. From this, the plastic strain increment can be obtained as, d 2 2 1/2 = 2 / 3d2 1 + d2 + d3 . Representing in general coordinate system,
2 2 2 2 2 1/2 = 2/3d2 d 11 + d22 + d33 + 2d12 + 2d13 + 2d23

Finally in terms of total plastic strains, 2 2 2 2 2 1/2 = 2 / 32 Effective strain, 11 + 22 + 33 + 212 + 213 + 223

Results of Upsetting Experiments

The variation of hardness and effective strain in the radial and axial directions with respect to the distance from the geometrical center to the periphery of the billet for different lubricants were analyzed and the results are given below.

Variation of Hardness and Effective Strain in Radial Direction

The variation of hardness with distance from the center to the periphery for different lubricants in the radial direction is shown in Fig. 3. It is evident from the gure that Teon m = 0.16 shows a relatively smaller change in hardness throughout the radial distance. The hardness varies within a span of 114 VHN at the center to 103.75 VHN at the end. The smaller variation in hardness is mainly because of the good lubricating ability of Teon, resulting in the homogeneous deformation. This is reected in the friction factor value m = 0.16 obtained from RCT for Teon as it is the

lowest of all the lubricants. In general, the lesser friction factor value reects the sliding friction condition existing at the interface and hence homogeneous deformation (i.e., lesser bulging) is expected. This could have possibly resulted in uniform strain hardening throughout the radial distance, leading to even distribution of hardness. Other lubricants, viz., grease, castor oil, and soap show nonuniform deformation and a large decrease in hardness is seen from the center of the billet to its periphery (Fig. 3). (Local hardness increase in a few cases is neglected.) For example, soap lubricant showed comparatively more variation from 115 VHN at the center to 92.5 VHN at the end. This is due to the bulging or barreling of the billet during compression. During bulging, metal near the periphery of the billet (bulge surface) can be seen as the easy deformed region and material near to the geometric center (or vertical axis) can be seen as the difcult deformed region, at a particular deformation height. It is expected that the easy deformed region strain harden less, when compared to the difcult deformed region, as metal ows outward without any restriction. In other words, the strain hardening ability should decrease from the billet geometric center to its periphery. As a result, the decreasing trend in hardness is seen from the center to the bulge surface (or periphery) (Fig. 3). In the case of Teon, the bulging or barreling effect is comparatively less. The schematic of easy and difcult deformed regions are shown in Fig. 4, where in the maximum deformed grids near the periphery are easy deformed grids and minimum deformed grids near the geometric center are difcult deformed grids. It is found from the Fig. 5 that: (1) the effective strain decreases from the center towards the periphery of the upset billet; and (2) with increase in m values, the effective strain variation is more from the center to periphery. First, the decrease in effective strain is similar to the hardness distribution along the radial direction. Secondly, with an increase in m value, the resistance to metal ow at the interface increases, as it approaches the sticking friction condition m = 1.0. But the metal ows easily along the horizontal axis (A-B in Fig. 4) of the sample. So, the higher the m value, the more will be the bulging effect and hence more variation in effective strain from the vertical axis (or geometric center) to the periphery of the upset billet is expected, i.e., from A to B in Fig. 4 (for the same deforma-

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leads to more effective strain variation from the geometric center to the periphery of the upset sample, with an increase in the m value. This behavior of effective strain concurs with the analyses by Kim et al. [15], where in the m = 0 case shows nil variation in effective strain, with the m = 1 case showing maximum effective strain variation from center to periphery.

Variation of Hardness and Effective Strain in Axial Direction

Figure 7 shows the variation of hardness with the distance from the center to the surface of the upset billet for four different lubricants in the axial direction. It is observed from the gure that Teon shows almost uniform hardness distribution from the geometric center to the surface, except the initial local increase. This is similar to the case in the radial direction presented earlier. While grease, castor oil and soap show a relatively larger variation in hardness (i.e.,) there exists a signicant decrease in hardness from the geometric center to the billet surface. This is due to the differential straining of the billet near to the surface (or interface) and in the center. Since movement of metal near to the interface is restricted (because of nonholdability of lubricant and sticking friction condi-

FIG. 4Schematic representation of easy and difcult deformed regions in upset sample (not to scale).

tion height). This variation is depicted in Fig. 5. The effect of the m value on the bulging of the upset sample is schematically presented in Fig. 6(a). With an increase in the m value, the ratio of diameter of bulge DB to diameter of initial billet Do, say DB / Do, will increase, either linearly or nonlinearly, as shown in Fig. 6(b). This

FIG. 5Variation of effective strain from the geometrical center to the periphery in the radial direction (inset shows the effective strain measurement locations schematically).

FIG. 6Schematic representation of inuence of the m value on the bulging of the upset sample (not to scale); (a) Inuence of m on the bulging of the upset sample, (b) Effect of m on the DB / Do ratio.

NARAYANAN ET AL. ON INFLUENCE OF FRICTION IN A COLD FORGED PRODUCT

FIG. 7Variation of hardness from geometrical center to the surface in the axial direction (inset shows the hardness measurement locations schematically).

tion), deformation is less in that region, whereas metal deforms easily without any restriction away from the interface. As a result, the material hardening is severe near to the horizontal axis (or geometric center), rather than at the interface. Hence, when hardness is measured in the axial direction from the geometric center to the surface, it is likely to decrease as shown in Fig. 7. One can imagine this similar to the deformed grids presented in Fig. 4. The schematic of the deformed grid pattern for this case is shown in Fig. 8, wherein the elements near to the geometric center (or horizontal axis) deform more when compared to that of near the interface. As a result, the hardness decreases from the center to the interface (or billet surface). One should observe similar hardness variation behavior, even if the hardness locations are other than the vertical center axis. For example, if the hardness values are measured along the line AA as shown in Fig. 8(b), a similar decrease in hardness is expected from the horizontal axis to the interface. The hardness variation in the axial direction correlates with what is observed in Ref [15], wherein hardness decreases from the center to the interface. Figure 9 shows the variation of effective strain with respect to distance from the center to the periphery of the billet in the axial direction. It is understood from the gure that the effective strain decreases from the center to the periphery of the upset specimen. It also demonstrates that higher friction factor lubricant, i.e., castor oil, m = 0.33, generates higher effective strain at the center and lower effective strain at the interface i.e., the range of effective

strain variation in the axial direction increases with increase in friction factor value. Teon with m = 0.16 shows lesser variation in effective strain (Fig. 9). One can visualize this as a result of inhomogeneous deformation (i.e., more bulging) occurring due to the higher friction condition existing at the interface when castor oil is used as the lubricant, whereas this is minimal in the case of Teon. Moreover, since castor oil is a liquid lubricant, its holdability during the forging operation is of greater concern, which may not be an issue in the case of Teon.

Variation of Hardness and Effective Strain on the Flat Surface (or Interface)
The variation of hardness (VHN) and effective strain from the center to the periphery on the at surface of the billet is presented in Figs. 10 and 11, respectively. Teon and other lubricants as well show more or less constant variation in hardness and effective strain throughout the surface, except at the end. An important observation is that with increase in the m value, the effective strain variation on the surface is decreasing. For example, in Fig. 11, castor oil with a higher m value m = 0.33 shows lesser effective strain throughout the surface, in comparison to that of Teon with a lower m value m = 0.16. This typical behavior can be related to the holdability of the lubricant and, in turn, existence of sticking or sliding friction conditions at the interface.

FIG. 8Schematic representation of initial billet and deformed grids during upsetting; Initial undeformed billet with grid pattern, (b) Deformed grids in one-quarter of the upset sample (not to scale).

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FIG. 9Variation of effective strain from geometrical center to the surface in axial direction (inset shows the schematic of effective strain measurement locations).

For a lubricant with lesser holdability at the interface, say in castor oil m = 0.33, since the surface exhibits more resistance for expansion (or deformation), it undergoes lesser straining, leading to minimum effective strain throughout the surface. Whereas Teon m = 0.16 exhibits better holdability because of the interface expands (or deforms easily) more, and hence more straining is experienced, resulting in higher effective strain throughout the surface. Since hardness and effective strain are measured at the surface, they remain constant, unlike in the billet inner region presented in earlier sections. In the inner region of the upset billet, material deforms severely and hence undergoes (a) differential straining resulting in an increase and decrease of effective strain, and (b) differential strain hardeningresulting in an increase and decrease of hardness, which is not the case in the surface (or interface). To summarize, the effect of varied friction conditions (or lubricants) on the hardness and effective strain variation during the simple upsetting operation is unied, i.e., decrease in hardness and effective strain is observed in the radial and axial directions. The decrease in hardness and effective strain can be related to differential strain hardening and differential straining, respectively, between the billet center region and periphery. This differential hardening and straining is because of the holdability of the lubricant and, in turn, the prevalence of sticking and sliding friction con-

ditions existing at the interface, i.e., whether bulging is minimum or maximum. It is observed that the case with lesser holdability, i.e., castor oil with m = 0.33, depicted maximum variation of hardness and effective strain, while Teon with better holdability m = 0.16 showed more or less uniform variation. Other lubricants, viz., grease and soap follow a similar trend accordingly. Some of the results are similar to that presented in Ref [15]. A constant variation in hardness and effective strain is seen on the billet surface.

Interrelating Hardness and Effective Strain

Figure 12 shows the scatter diagram of hardness (VHN) to effective . All the experimental hardness (VHN) values were plotstrain values from FE simulations for varted with the effective strain ied lubricants. The scatter diagram indicates a linear variation be and hardness (VHN). Therefore, a tween the effective strain straight line t was developed for hardness (VHN) as a function of by the least square curve tting method. The effective strain empirical relationship established between hardness (VHN) and ef is, fective strain

FIG. 10Variation of surface hardness (VHN) from the center of the circular face to the outer surface (inset shows the hardness measurement locations schematically).

NARAYANAN ET AL. ON INFLUENCE OF FRICTION IN A COLD FORGED PRODUCT

FIG. 11Variation of surface effective strain from the center of the circular face to the outer surface (inset shows the effective strain measurement locations schematically).

+ 74.5 VHN = 29.15

(1)

This empirical relation is common for all four lubricants, viz., Teon, grease, soap, and castor oil, considered for experimentation. This relationship is valid within the band of hardness values 10 % within the line contour. The strain values on or near to the + 74.5 will yield accurate hardness values. t line VHN= 29.15 A more accurate relationship can be obtained with more experimental trials.

Conclusions on Upsetting Test

The inuence of different lubricants on the variation of hardness and effective strain during the simple upsetting operation is studied. An empirical relation has been established between the hardness and effective strain during the simple upsetting operation. Following are the conclusions made from this part of the investigation. Teon shows more or less uniform hardness distribution in the axial and radial directions indicating homogeneous deformation. Other lubricants show a large decrease in hardness. Effective strain decreases from the center towards the periph-

ery of the specimen for all the lubricants in the radial and axial directions, with Teon showing minimum variation in effective strain. In the axial direction, high friction factor lubricantcastor oil, m = 0.33, generates higher effective strain at the center and lower effective strain at the periphery, showing a larger variation is effective strain. This typical behavior is due to the differential straining of material near to the billet geometric center and at the interface. All the lubricants show constant variation is hardness and strain when measured on the surface (or upper interface). Hardness varies in linear proportion with effective strain for all the friction conditions (or lubricants) and this follows an + 74.5. empirical relation, VHN= 29.15

Prediction of Hardness Distribution in a Cold Forged Part and Validating the Empirical Relationship
The next part of the study deals with the prediction of hardness distribution in a cold forging process, which involves both radial and axial ow of metal. The equation interrelating hardness and effective strain was developed from simple upsetting tests, which involves radial metal ow only. In order to predict the hardness distribution and to validate the developed equation, a forging process that involves both axial and radial ow of metal, combined forgingextrusion process was selected. By considering the empirical relation (Eq 1), by evaluating the effective strain at different locations, the designer can predict the hardness of the forged part at the design stage itself.

Experimentation and Hardness Measurement

Commercially available pure aluminum billet (annealed) of size 24 mm diameter and 42 mm height was selected as the specimen for validating the equation and for predicting the hardness distribution. After 50 % deformation, the hardness values were obtained using the Vickers hardness testing machine at regular intervals of 1.2 mm along the radial and axial direction for four different lubri-

. FIG. 12Variation of hardness (VHN) with effective strain

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TABLE 1Correlation coefcient between the predicted and experimental hardness values. Correlation Coefcient r Lubricant Castor Oil Soap Grease Teon Radial Direction 0.45 0.95 0.65 0.80 Axial Direction 0.44 0.93 0.93 0.92

Effective Strain Evolution During Combined Forging-Extrusion Process and Hardness Prediction
The effective strain distribution in the cold forged product was predicted at the same locations where hardness was measured earlier, by conducting FE simulation using DEFORM ver3.0 package. The FE simulation was conducted for 50 % deformation for four lubricating conditions with varied friction factors noted earlier. The rigid plastic, plane strain, and axisymmetric analyses were followed for simulations. The elements selected were four-noded quadrilateral in shape. values thus obtained from FE simulaThe effective strain tions of the combined forging-extrusion process for varied lubricants at different locations were substituted in the empirical rela + 74.5, developed from the simple upsetting tion, VHN= 29.15 tests. The hardness (VHN) values thus obtained are equivalent to that of from combined forging-extrusion experiments. The hardness distribution from the empirical relation were compared with the hardness (VHN) obtained experimentally. Thus, the hardness distribution in a cold forged product can be predicted just by determining the effective strain distribution using FE simulations at the design stage itself for varied lubricating conditions.

FIG. 13Schematic representation of tooling for experiments (cold forging = extrusion process) (all dimensions in mm; not to scale).

cating conditions. Two trials were conducted for each condition. The hardness variation was found to be within 5 % limit in these experiments also. The schematic representation of tooling used for experimental purpose is shown in Figs. 13 and 14. The tooling consists of upper and lower dies with respective pins. These pins are tted into the die as shown in Fig. 14. After deformation, pins can be easily taken out and hence the billet can be removed easily from the pin. The arrow marks show the metal ow direction (Fig. 14). The radial metal ow represents the forging operation and the downward metal ow represents the extrusion operation. Hence, this particular process combines both radial and axial metal ow as mentioned earlier. But in FE simulations, lower and upper die pins are not provided separately and the die is considered as a single unit.

Comparison between Experimental and Predicted Hardness Values

The experimental and predicted hardness values (from empirical Eq 1) for the combined forging-extrusion product for four different lubricants in the radial and axial directions were compared by nding the correlation coefcient r. The correlation coefcient r, is determined using the formula, Correlation coefficient, r = n where: rx = n

xy x y/r r
ry = n

x y

x2 x ;
2

y2 y

FIG. 14Schematic of assembled view of the tooling used for combined forging extrusion experiments (symmetric with horizontal axis A-A).

Here, x and y are the variables considered for comparison, and n is the number of readings. Table 1 presents the correlation t between the experimental and predicted hardness. Lubricants soap, grease, and Teon show a better correlation t, while hardness predictions for castor oil show a larger discrepancy (r = 0.45 and 0.44). The graphical comparison between the experimental and predicted hardness for four different lubricants is shown in Figs. 1518. The graphical comparison shows a similar pattern of prediction with castor oil depicting a larger discrepancy between the experimental and predicted hardness values, while other lubricants show predictions with acceptable accuracy. Moreover, the predictions are more accurate in the axial direction, rather than in the radial direction.

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FIG. 15Comparison of experimental hardness to predicted hardness (from Eq 1) for castor oil m = 0.33 lubrication.

In whole, the hardness predictions using the empirical equation which is common for a four lubricants is not accurate for a lubricant with lesser holdability, i.e, castor oil, while other lubricants (Teon, soap, grease) with better holdability show good prediction levels. Hence, it can be said that the empirical relation, VHN= 29.15 + 74.5 is more suitable for lubricants (soap, grease, and Teon) approaching sliding friction conditions as they represent the semisolid and solid lubricant category, wherein holdability is relatively better than in the case of the castor oil lubricant.

Conclusions on Hardness Prediction

Hardness variation was predicted from the empirical equation and the applicability of the equation was tested under two different conditions: (1) a forming process involving both radial and axial metal ow, and (2) varied friction conditions or lubricants. The following are the conclusions from this part of the work.

FIG. 16Comparison of experimental hardness to predicted hardness (from Eq 1) for soap m = 0.25 lubrication.

FIG. 17Comparison of experimental hardness to predicted hardness (from Eq 1) for grease m = 0.2 lubrication.

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FIG. 18Comparison of experimental hardness to predicted hardness (from Eq 1) for Teon m = 0.16 lubrication.

+ 74.5, established The empirical relation, VHN= 29.15 during the simple upsetting operation (having only radial metal ow) is found to be good for hardness prediction during the combined forging-extrusion process, involving both radial and axial metal ow. The predictions are more dependent on the lubricating conditions at the interface, rather than the typical forging process used for prediction. The empirical relationship between hardness and effective strain obtained from the simple upsetting operation, which is common for all the lubricants, predicts the hardness distribution during the forging-extrusion process with moderate accuracy. In general, predictions are good in the case of lubricants with better holdability, viz., Teon, soap, grease, rather than a lubricant with lesser holdability, i.e., castor oil. This can be related to sticking and sliding friction conditions existing at the interface.

References
[1] Dieter, G. E., Mechanical Metallurgy, Tata Mc-Graw Hill, 1988, p. 751. [2] Robinson, T., Ou, H., and Armstrong, C. G., Study on Ring Compression Test Using Physical Modeling and FE Simulation, J. Mater. Process. Technol., Vol. 153-154, 2004, pp. 54 59. [3] Male, A. T. and Cockcroft, M. G., A Method for the Determination of the Coefcient of Friction of Metals Under Condition of Bulk Plastic Deformation, Journal of Institute of Metals, Vol. 64-65, 1993, p. 38. [4] Rao, K. P. and Sivaram, K., A Review of Ring Compression Testing and Applicability of the Calibration Curves, J. Mater. Process. Technol., Vol. 37, 1993, pp. 295318. [5] Hasan, S., Hasan, G., and Jahan, R., Determination of Friction Coefcient by Employing the Ring Compression Test, J. Eng. Mater. Technol., Vol. 123, 2001, pp. 338348. [6] Hasan, S. and Jahan, R., On the Measurement of Friction Coefcient Utilizing the Ring Compression Test, Tribol. Int., Vol. 32, 1999, pp. 327335. [7] Venugopal, S., Srinivasan, G., Venkadesan, S., and Seetharaman, V., A Note on the Determination of the Friction Factor by Means of the Reduction-Capacity Test, J. Mech. Work. Technol., Vol. 19, 1989, pp. 261266. [8] Avitzur, B., Metal Forming: Processes and Analysis, Tata McGraw-Hill, 1977, p. 500. [9] Buschhausen, A., Weinmann, K., Lee, J. Y., and Altan, T., Evaluation of Lubrication and Friction in Cold Forging Using a Double Backward-Extrusion Process, J. Mater. Process. Technol., Vol. 33, 1992, pp. 95108. [10] Forcellese, A., Gabrielli, F., Barcellona, A., and Micari, F., Evaluation of Friction in Cold Metal Forming, J. Mater. Process. Technol., Vol. 45, 1994, pp. 619624. [11] Wagoner, R. H. and Chenot, J. L., Fundamentals of Metal Forming, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1997, p. 388. [12] Barcellona, A., Cannizzaro, L., Forcellese, A., and Gabrielli, F., Validation of Frictional Studies by Double-Cup Extrusion Tests in Cold-Forming, Annals of the CIRP, Vol. 45/1, 1996, p. 211, www.cirp.net. [13] Ghobrial, M. I., Lee, J. Y., Altan, T., Bay, T., and Hansen, B. G., Factors Affecting the Double Cup Extrusion Test for Evaluation of Friction in Cold and Warm Forging, Annals of the CIRP, Vol. 42/1, 1993, p. 347, www.cirp.net.

Perspective
The hardness and effective strain variation for four different lubricants are related to sticking and sliding friction conditions resulting in differential strain hardening and differential straining during upsetting operation. Some of the results are similar to that presented in Kim et al. [15]. A similar trend is expected in the case of other lubricants also and, hence, one can visualize the inuence of lubricants on the hardness and effective strain during the upsetting operation to be similar to that presented in this study. The friction factor of lubricants used for the simulation purpose in this work were evaluated from the ring compression test, which may not accurately represent the interfacial friction conditions during closed die forging, as is the case in the combined forging-extrusion process. It is expected that the friction factor obtained from the double cup extrusion test may predict the forging behavior accurately. Even in the case of RCT, the constant friction factor approach is considered. But the interface friction changes with deformation and, hence, evaluating the varying friction factor will improve the accuracy of predictions. Also, one can develop separate empirical equations for varied lubricating conditions to improve the prediction accuracy.

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[14] Hartley, P., Sturgess, C. E. N., and Rowe, G. W., Prediction of Deformation and Homogeneity in Rim-Disc Forging, J. Mech. Work. Technol., Vol. 4, 1980, pp. 145154. [15] Kim, H., Lee, S-M., and Altan, T. Prediction of Hardness Distribution in Cold Backward Extruded Cups, J. Mater. Process. Technol., Vol. 59, 1996, pp. 113121. [16] Petruska, J. and Janicek, L., On the Evaluation of Strain Inhomogeneity by Hardness Measurement of Formed Products, J. Mater. Process. Technol., Vol. 143-144, 2003,

pp. 300305. [17] Sonmez, F. O. and Demir, A., Analytical Relations Between Hardness and Strain for Cold Formed Parts, J. Mater. Process. Technol., Vol. 186, 2007, pp. 163173. [18] Ganesh Narayanan, R., Studies on Effect of Friction in Cold Forging and Prediction of Hardness Distribution in a Cold Formed Product, M.S. (by research) Thesis, Anna University, Chennai, India, 2002.