HOT FORGING DIE FAILURE

Due to dynamic interaction with other rigid bodies, liquids and/or particles, wear is the gradual
loss of material from a rigid body's surface. it is often complex, and a single mechanism cannot
describe it. It generally comprises of two or more wear systems that act simultaneously or in a
series of moments. Each wear method can be divided into four fundamental wear processes;
abrasion, adherence and heat and mechanical fatigue. Abrasion is wearing that happens by fine
particles with uneven blade geometry as a consequence of micro-cutting and does not extrude
material. At the interface of a softer material, which is manifested by surface roughness, it results
in a more material removal[ CITATION Nik14 \l 1033 ]. In the impression of a forging die, wear
is hereditary in the flow and spread of hot metal. It is particularly severe when the forging design
is complex or difficult to forge in other respects, when the metal being forged has a high hot
strength, or when there is a scale on the metalworking. While wear cannot be eliminated,
excellent die structure, careful choice of die structure and hardness and a forging method that
involves adequate heating and adequate die lubrication can minimize its effect[ CITATION
Suk08 \l 1033 ].

Figure 1: Abrasive wear of hot forging die

In the process of hot work, dies are affected by three primary variables that cause their
destruction: cyclically variable mechanical loading, extensive thermal loading, as well as
extensive friction and erosion. In order to lower the yield point of the forged material, it must be
heated to a temperature of 1000 to 1200 ° C. The cyclically changing load, arising from the
specificity of the forging method, causes the forging material to warm up and then cool down,
also cyclically. It is estimated that the forging die surface temperature can reach 600 ° C to 900 °
C. Hot metal flow over the surface and repeated cycles of mechanical and thermal stress result in
failure of the die. Due to various failure modes that influence the die life, the dies in a warm
setting fails easily, hence the cost of production[ CITATION Sub16 \l 1033 ].

Figure 2: Thermal fatigue of a hot forging die

As a die gets warmer, its wear resistance is diminishing. Overheating causes most of the forging
premature die wear. In regions of the die impression that project into the cavity, overheating is
probable to happen. Moreover, the ongoing forging may lead in overheating. Because the
temperature of the die block forging typically ranges from 370 to 12600 C, it will also cover a
wide variety. Thin projections or plugs can reach 425 to 5500C in forging steel, but the
temperature in the die block is usually between 150 and 3500 C. Dies for forging steel and other
metals that must be produced at elevated temperatures are prone to heat control or the growth of
minute die impression cracks [ CITATION Suk08 \l 1033 ].

Eventually, abrasive wear is a major problem in any system where dust and wear debris are not
or cannot be regulated and/or excluded. Most abrasive wear behavior factors are linked to their
corresponding mechanical characteristics. The mechanical element of the interaction between
abrasive / wear material is also important. However, chemical processes are also essential, i.e.
corrosion or oxidation, as they directly affect the wear frequency of a product in the interest
environment [ CITATION Sub16 \l 1033 ]. Generally, in the metallic materials, isothermal and
non-isothermal fatigues characterize their durability in the oligocyclic range. The determination
of isothermal durability in this range presumes the cyclic axial stress in an elastoplastic system
when constants are retained for the peak and minimum temperature values [ CITATION
ACD17 \l 1033 ].
 Figure 3: Mechanical fatigue on a die

In hot forging procedures, both the filling method (material deformation) and the removal of the
forged element when the die is cooled by the spraying of the lubricant are extremely strained.
The die surfaces and the die material's near-surface layers undergo mechanical and thermal
cycles characterized by elevated amplitude and high frequency (usually less than 10 s for
elevated production prices). Different processes of failure can prevail for these purposes: wear,
plastic deformation and cracking of thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF). Unlike wear and plastic
deformation, where the damage is gradually increased during service life and progressive defects
in the forged parts are immediately apparent, the cracks due to fatigue are increasing, but the
impact on the shaped parts is not so obvious, so the failure appears suddenly when the crack
reaches a macro depth and the die fails [ CITATION GAB05 \l 1033 ].
REFERENCES
Berti, G., 2005. Thermo-mechanical fatigue life assessment of hot forging die steel. Fatigue
Fract Engng Mater Struct, Volume 28, pp. 1025-1034.

Catipovic, N., 2014. Cold and Hot forging die wear. Croatia, s.n.

Chander, S., 2016. Failure of Hot Forging Dies - An Updated Perspective. 5th International
Conference of Materials Processing and Characterization, pp. 1147-1157.

Drumeanu, A. C., 2017. Tribo-thermal fatigue of the steel used for the forging die construction.
IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, Volume 174, pp. 12-47.

Pansear, S. S., 2008. Evaluation of Wear Coefficient of Hot Forging Dies in Hammer Forging.
India, s.n.