Prediction of neutral plane and effects of the process parameters in radial forging using an upper bound solution

Radial forging is an open die forging process used for reducing the diameter of shafts, tubes and axels. In the present research, a new velocity field was developed to analyze the radial forging process by the upper bound method. The forging load was predicted by minimizing the deformation power with regards to the location of neutral plane. The accuracy of the model was verified by comparing the predicted forging loads with experimental results published by the previous researcher. A good agreement was found between the two sets of results.