Simulation of plane strain rolling through a combined element free Galerkin–boundary element approach

This paper presents an innovative approach for analysing plane strain rolling. The proposed approach is based on a solution resulting from the combination of the element free Galerkin method (EFG) and the boundary element method (BEM). The element free Galerkin method is used to perform the numerical modelling of the workpiece allowing the estimation of the roll separating force, the rolling torque and the contact pressure along the surface of the rolls, whilst the boundary element method is applied for computing the elastic deformation of the rolls. Coupling between the two numerical methods is made using the element free Galerkin estimate of the contact pressure along the surface of the rolls to define the boundary conditions to be applied in the elastic analysis of the rolls. The validity of the proposed approach is discussed by comparing the theoretical predictions with experimental data found in the literature.