A New Method for Controlling Billet Temperature During Isothermal Die Forging of a Complex Superalloy Casing

Isothermal die forging is one of near net-shape metal-forming technologies. Strict control of billet temperature during isothermal die forging is a guarantee for the excellent properties of final product. In this study, a new method is proposed to accurately control the billet temperature of complex superalloy casing, based on the finite element simulation and response surface methodology (RSM). The proposed method is accomplished by the following two steps. Firstly, the thermal compensation process is designed and optimized to overcome the inevitable heat loss of dies during hot forging. i.e., the layout and opening time of heaters assembled on die sleeves are optimized. Then, the effects of forging speed (the pressing velocity of hydraulic machine) and its changing time on the maximum billet temperature are discussed. Furthermore, the optimized forging speed and its changing time are obtained by RSM. Comparisons between the optimized and conventional die forging processes indicate that the proposed method can effectively control the billet temperature within the optimal forming temperature range. So, the optimized die forging processes can guarantee the high volume fraction of dynamic recrystallization, and restrict the rapid growth of grains in the forged superalloy casing.