A study of the influence of the friction conditions on the forging process of a blade with a tenon

In this paper, the influence of the friction conditions on the metal flow in the forging process of a blade with a tenon is analyzed using a 3D FEM code developed by the authors. In order to deal with the neutral-point problem in the process, an arctangent function is used as the friction model. The results obtained show the following: (1) The deformation in the tenon is virtually unaffected by friction, but the deformation in the blade body varies notably with various friction conditions; (2) With increase of the friction factor, the distribution of the velocity field in the left and right sides of the cavity becomes more even. In order to make it possible to fill different cross-sections in the blade body, the initial billet should be placed a little to the right of the cavity. The greater is the friction factor, the closer is the billet to the right side of the cavity; (3) The greater is the friction factor, the greater the equivalent strain and the gradient of the equivalent strain in the cross-sections. This study is of significance to understand and master the metal flow law of the forging process of a blade with a tenon under various friction conditions.