Abstract
Voids in a large rotor are formed in solidification process of a cast ingot. The voids have to be eliminated from the rotor by a forming process, because they would became stress-intensity factors which suddenly fracture the rotor in the operation. Previous studies on void-elimination of a large rotor have mainly focused on finding the process variables affecting the void-closure. But the study on the amount of void closure in a large rotor has been very rare. This study was performed to obtain an equation which predicts the amount of void-closure in a forging process of a large rotor and to evaluate the availability of the void-closure equation through finite element analyses. Firstly, 2D FE analysis was carried out to find effects of time integral of hydrostatic stress and effective strain on void volume rate of a large rotor in the upsetting process for various diameters and shapes of void, and material temperature. From the 2D FE analysis, we found that effective strain was suitable for predicting the void-closure of a large rotor, because there was a constant relationship between void volume rate and effective strain. And a void-closure equation was proposed fur predicting void-closure of a large rotor in the upsetting process. Finally, ken the 3D FE analysis, the proposed void-closure equation was verified to be useful for upsetting and cogging processes.
