Mathematical and Numerical Modelling of Copper Tube Extrusion after Optimizing Geometrical and Operating Parameters

Abstract

This study aimed to optimize cross-sectional area of the extruder and the flow rate of the material through the extruder. Extrusion process was first mod-elized using the continuum mechanics method before being simulated with the commercial software LS-DYNA using the Johnson-Cook model based on the finite element method after optimization of the factors with simplex algorithm. The study was carried out on a connecting rod: diameter of 145 mm, cross-section of 1.65 m 2 , length of 0.25 m, volume of 0.41 m 3 and a mass of 37 kg. Optimum parameters obtained were temperature of 850˚C, flow rate of 0.237 m/s, die diameter of 19.2 mm, pin diameter of 14 mm, extrusion strength of 565.6 kN and press pressure of 245 GPa. From these factors, a blank was obtained with external and internal diameters of 19.2 and 14 mm respectively over a length of 28 m with a thickness of 2.6 mm. Simulation using LS-DYNA software resulted in a difference in values of 7.4% between optimization and simulation when the difference of 2.4% was found between modelling and simulation. These values make the process optimal for industrial application to improve the extrusion requirements of copper tubes.