An investigation of the early stages of a forging/extrusion process

Abstract The work reported in this paper involved an investigation using an elasto-plastic finite-element analysis and series of experimental tests to examine the early stages of a forging/extrusion process. The experimental work investigated the influence of the tool/workpiece geometry on the deformation characteristics at the initial yielding of the workpiece material under unlubricated conditions. The elasto-plastic finite-element analysis provided evidence of the internal stress and displacement distribution within the workpiece and the influence of both the workpiece and the tool geometry on these distributions. It was found that, despite the presence of a hole in the centre of the top-die, the behaviour of the workpiece was similar to that of a solid cylinder under compression.