Recent development of ring rolling theory and technique

Abstract

Rings are basic mechanical components. Ring rolling is a well-known advanced plastic forming technique to manufacture high-performance seamless rings. Since the 21st century, the fast development of global manufacturing has raised an urgent request to high-performance rings, thus, comprehensive and in-depth studies on ring rolling technique were carried out. Based on long-term investigations and attentions on ring rolling, important developments of ring rolling theory and technique in recent 15 years were simply summarised, including the traditional radial ring rolling and radial-axial ring rolling, as well as the novel combined ring rolling. It is expected to give a valuable reference to the research and application of ring rolling.Keywords: ring rolling; theory; technology; equipment; recent development.Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Hua, L., Deng, J. and Qian, D. (2017)

Numerical Simulation of Intelligent Fuzzy Closed-Loop Control Method for Radial–Axial Ring Rolling Process of Super-Large Rings

“…The radial feed amount per revolution Δ h r distribution to the outside surface is denoted as Δ h 1 , while that to the inside surface is denoted as Δ h 2 . The relationship between Δ h r and Δ h 1 , Δ h 2 can be expressed as follows [ 3 , 6 ]: where R 1 is the radius of the main roll, R 2 is the radius of the mandrel, and R and r are the outer and inner radii of the ring, respectively. It is evident that the circularity errors of the ring’s outer and inner contours e 1 and e 2 are equal to the radial feed amount per revolution Δ h r distribution to the outside surface Δ h 1 and to the inside surface Δ h 2 , respectively; that is, e 1 = Δ h 1 , e 2 = Δ h 2 .…”

“…Super-large ring products such as wind power bearing rings, nuclear power supporting rings, and rocket adapters are key structural components used in the field of energy, aviation, aerospace, etc. Radial–axial ring rolling (RARR) is a well-known advanced rotational forming technique to manufacture high-performance super-large seamless rings [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. The principle of the RARR process is shown in Figure 1 .…”

“…Furthermore, in the final rolling period, the ring’s wall thickness is 3–4 times less than the initial workpiece, the ring’s diameter increases about five times that of the initial workpiece, and the ring’s rotational inertia and stiffness condition change exponentially relative to the initial rolling stage. These features bring challenges for the stability and circularity control of RARR process of super-large rings [ 3 ].…”

Effect of Hot Rolling on Microstructural Evolution and Wear Behaviors of G20CrNi2MoA Bearing Steel

“…From the forming process perspective, high-efficiency hot-rolled ring technology is characterized not only by material saving, energy efficiency and lower pollution but also by high forming accuracy. The team of Hua et al [7] carried out a thorough systematic analysis of the rolling forming process from the aspects of design, theory [8,9] and experimental research [10,11]. From the perspective of microstructural evolution, hot rolling can not only refine the microstructure [12,13] but also yield a more uniform texture distribution [14,15] and provide a high-quality initial microstructure for subsequent heat treatment.…”

Obtaining ultrafine spheroidized carbides by combining warm deformation with divorced eutectoid transformation in GCr15 bearing steel

“…GCr15 steel is a kind of traditional high carbon chromium bearing steel, which is widely used in railway components, die making, shipbuilding, aerospace and automotive applications [1]. Due to the poor forming performance of GCr15 steel with the lamellar pearlite, it is difficult to produce complex components by cold forming [2], which limits the use of high carbon steel.…”