An Anisotropic Damage Model for Prediction of Ductile Fracture during Cold-Forging

Abstract

Researchers have formulated equations of ductile fracture to simulate and predict defects in cold-forged parts, e.g., the Cockcroft–Latham criterion. However, these equations are not applicable to certain cases of fracture in forged products. This study formulates a new equation for predicting ductile fractures with better prediction accuracy than the convention by which the cost for trial-and-error design can be reduced. The equation is expressed as a second-rank symmetric tensor, which is the inner product of the stress and strain-increment tensors. The theoretical efficacy of the equation in predicting ductile fractures is verified via a uniaxial tensile test. The practicability of the equation is confirmed by applying it to the simulations of two real cold-forged components: a cold-forged hollow shaft and a flanged shaft. For the hollow shaft, the equation predicts the position where the ductile fracture would initiate, which—to the best of the authors’ knowledge—is unique to this study. For the flanged shaft, the equation predicts the occurrence of diagonal cracks due to different lubrication conditions.

Keywords

• ductile fracture prediction
• cold-forging
• finite element analysis
• anisotropic damage