Some Critical Issues in Simulation of Hot Metal Forming Operations

The paper deals with the correlations that are established in simulation of manufacturing process chains among process parameters, microstructure evolution and properties of the final product. With the focus on process chains applied to bulk and sheet metal parts where deformation is carried out in hot working conditions, the paper illustrates through three application cases the role that the analysis of the micro-structure evolution plays in simulations of process chains and, in particular, in enhancing the capabilities of the models that are currently implemented in commercial FE codes in predicting the properties of the final part.