Optimisation of Aluminium Extrusion Technology by FE Simulation and Experiments

The use of aluminium extrusions is expanding, finding application in automotive, construction and other industries. The common practise of the die set design is based on existing empirical knowledge of die makers accumulated over many years. This research project targeted to review the old methodology of die design and introduced a computational based method of designing new dies with an increased productivity and improved wear resistance. It is based on extending the commercial simulation packages capabilities by developing the constitutive models for aluminium alloys behaviour and damage models predicting the die life.