Critical issues in the simulation of hot forming operations

The paper deals with the correlations that can be established in the numerical simulation of manufacturing process chains among the process parameters, micro- structure 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 microstructure evolution plays in the process chains simulations and, in particular, in enhancing the capabilities of the models that are currently implemented in commercial FE codes for predicting the properties of the final part.