A finite element program is developed to analyze the flow phenomena in SMC compression molding as a viscoplastic model. The calculation of temperature distribution is also carried out by uncoupling the thermal analysis from the flow analysis. SMC molding processes with a flat plate substructure and the one with a T-shaped rib are considered in numerical simulation. The numerical results provide deformed shapes, temperature distribution in a SMC charge, and the forming load. The simulation of compression molding of a flat plate with a T-shaped rib requires a remeshing technique for the whole process.

In the paper, we have proposed a new method to determine the initial billet for the forged products using a function approximation in the neural network. The architecture of neural network is a three-layer neural network and the back propagation algorithm is employed to train the network. By utilizing the ability of function approximation of a neural network, an optimal billet is determined by applying the nonlinear mathematical relationship between the aspect ratios in the initial billet and the final products. The amount of incomplete filling in the die is measured by the rigid-plastic finite element method. The neural network is trained with the initial billet aspect ratios and those of the unfilled volumes. After learning, the system is able to predict the filling regions which are exactly the same or slightly different to the results of finite element simulation. This new method is applied to find the optimal billet size for the plane strain rib-web product in cold forging. This would reduce the number of finite element simulation for determining the optimal billet size of forging product, further it is usefully adapted to physical modeling for the forging design.

The planar anisotripic FEM analysis for predicting earing profiles and draw-in amounts in the deep-drawing process is introduced. An implicit, incremental, updated Lagrangian formulation with a rigid-viscoplastic constitutive equation is employed. Contact and friction are considered through the mesh-based unit vector and normal contact pressure. The consistent full set of governing relations, which is comprising euilbrium and geometric constraint equations, is appropriately linearized. Barlat's strain-rate potential is employed, whose in-plane anisotropic properties are taken into account with anisotropic coefficients and potential parameters. The linear triangular membrane elements are used for depicting the formed sheet. In the numerical simulations of deep drawing processes of a flat-top cylindrical cup for 2090-T3 aluminum alloy sheet show good agreement with experiments, although some discrepancies were observed in the directional trend of cup height and thickness strains.

Rolling force in the direct rolling(or twin-roll strip continuous casting) process fo semi-solid material has been computed using rigid-viscoplastic finite element method. Temperature distributions for calculations of rolling force and roll deformation are obtained from thermofluid analysis. Three dimensional roll deformation analysis has also been performed by using commercial package ANSYS. From the results, behavior of metal flow, rolling force and roll deformation have been investigated according to the process conditions of semi-solid direct rolling.

SMC(Sheet Molding Compound), a thermoset composite material which consists of unsaturated polyester resin, fiberglass strands, fillers, and various chemical additives for curing agent, has been widely used in fabrication of structural components. The mechanical properties of molded SMS parts are strongly dependent on material flow results during compression molding process, while such flow in molds is affected by material characteristics. For numerical simulation of SMC molding process, estimation of material property of SMC must be accomplished. In this study, flow resistance of SMC was estimated through a simple compression test using a lubricant with grease oil under the constant strain rate condition at various temperatures and the result was compared with other material data available in the literature. The accuracy of the experimentally determined flow resistance was tested by finite element analyses of compression molding of SMC. Simulation results were compared with experimental results under the plane strain condition.

A simulation method based on upper bound method is developed in order to characterize forging characters in forging of spur gears. In this paper, utilizing a kinematically admissible velocity field and applying it to investigate the effect of inner diameter of holow billet. In the analysis, to predict the variation of inner diameter of hollw billet, neutral surface has been introduced. The neutral surface of each step is assumed as a circle and determined in order to have minimum forging energy by golden section method. By this method, the variation of inner diameter of billet during spur gear forging is successfully predicted. As a result, the selection of inner diameter of initial billet is very important to reduce the forging load.

Preform design is one of the critical fields in metal forming. The finite element method(FEM) has been effective in designing preforms and process sequence, for which the backward tracing scheme of the rigid-plastic FEM has been explored. In this work a program using the backward tracing scheme by the rigid-plastic FEM is developed for three-dimensional plastic deformation, which is an extension of the scheme from two-dimensional cases. The calculation of friction between workpiece and die, and handling of boundary conditions during backward tracing require sophisticated treatment. The developed program is applied to upsetting of a rectangular block and to side pressing of a cylindrical workpiece. The results of the two applications show feasibility of the program on three-dimensional plastic deformation.