Experimental and Numerical Study on Friction and Wear Performance of Hot Extrusion Die Materials

Abstract

For the aluminium alloys produced by the hot extrusion process, the profile is shaped according to the bearing at the exit of the extrusion die. The tribological process has significant effects on the die service life, profile dimensional tolerances, and profile surface finish. Recently, new technologies have been introduced to the hot extrusion die, such as cemented carbide insert die and surface coating. However, under hot extrusion working conditions, quantitative studies on their friction and wear performances are lacking. In this work, the friction and wear performances of three typical extrusion die materials, traditional hot tool steel (H13), cemented carbide (YG8), and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) coating, were studied. Macro and nano hardness tests, Pin-on-disk friction and wear tests, optical profiler and SEM observations, and experiments and simulations of hot extrusion were conducted. The results show that the coefficients of friction of CVD coatings and H13 hot work tool steel specimens were smaller under the hot extrusion condition than at room temperature. The wear mechanisms of H13, YG8, and CVD coatings at 500 °C are adhesion, abrasive, and fatigue, respectively. Moreover, the tribology results were validated by the extrusion experiments and the finite element analysis of hot extrusion. The conclusion of this manuscript is useful not only for the numerical simulation of the hot extrusion process but also for the surface finishing of the extrusion profile.

Wear characteristics of austenitic steel and martensitic steel at high temperature

“…Hot-working die steels are widely used in the hot-working dies of parts prepared by hot forging and hot extrusion [1,2]. Their service temperature during hot forging and hot extrusion can exceed 500 °C-600 °C (local temperature can reach almost 700 °C) [3,4]. Furthermore, the dies suffer dry wear and heating impact when directly contacting hot metals in an unlubricated environment.…”

Influence of Operating Temperature on the Service Life of Aluminum Extrusion Dies

“…Authors of work [ 19 ] concluded that many defects in the extruded products occur because of the conditions of the dies and tooling. The mechanisms of die surface wear were investigated in the work of Zhao et al [ 20 ].…”