Finite Element Analysis of Extrusion Process for Magnesium Alloy Internal Threads with Electromagnetic Induction-Assisted Heating and Thread Performance Research

Materials (Basel). 2020 May 8;13(9):2170. doi: 10.3390/ma13092170.

Abstract

The casting magnesium alloy AZ91D cannot be extruded at room temperature. This paper presents a process for extruding internal threads using AZ91D heated by electromagnetic induction. The feasibility of the process is verified by finite element simulation and experiments. Using DEFORM-3D to simulate the process of extruding a M12 × 1.25 mm threaded hole by electromagnetic induction-assisted heating, the equivalent stress-strain and material flow law in the process of thread deformation was analyzed and verified by experiments. Three parameters-hole diameter, machine speed and heating temperature-were considered to study the influence of different process conditions on the forming torque. The results show that a heating temperature above 523 K can improve the plasticity of AZ91D. The hole diameter has an important influence on the forming torque. The forming process is not suitable for high-speed machining. The surface metal of the thread formed by this process has a strong deformation layer, which can improve the strength and hardness of the thread.

Keywords: DEFORM-3D; Material flow; electromagnetic induction; heating temperature; hole diameter.