The detrimental effect of non-metallic inclusions during metal forming processes

Abstract

Abstract

The presence of non-metallic inclusions can result in material failure during the metal forming process or lead to a serious deterioration in the quality of the final product. Understanding the effects of inclusions during metal forming is therefore an important step towards predicting the behaviour of inclusions and subsequently minimizing their consequences.

To aid this understanding the authors have carried out a finite element (FE) analysis into the effect that metal inclusions have during metal forming, and specifically the effect of non-metallic inclusions in rod drawing [1, 2]. The FE analysis was verified using experiments that simulated the rod drawing process. It is part of the results of these experiments which is briefly described in this paper. An aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) sphere was embedded into an axially split rod which was then drawn through a carbide die. The subsequent deformation of the rod around the Al₂O₃ inclusion was studied. In addition, fracture of the rod, initiated at the inclusion, was observed.