Study of a 3-D FEM combined with the slab method for shape rolling

A complex model which combines the rigid–plastic 3-D FEM with the slab method is developed in this paper. In this model, first the plastic deformation zone in the billet was divided into several slabs, each slab being divided into 40 eight-node hexahedral isoparametric elements. Then, the rigid–plastic theory was combined with the equilibrium condition of the slab method. Finally, the metal flow, roll pressure, strain and strain ratio, etc. were calculated. Compared with the rigid–plastic 3-D FEM, this complex model confirmed the result to be within an acceptable error. Not only could a great deal of simulation time and storage capacity of CPU be saved, but it was also very suitable in performance for personal computers.