Deformation inhomogeneity in roll drawing process

The deformation inhomogeneity of flat wires produced with roll drawing process is analyzed. The effect of main process parameters, i.e., initial wire diameter, forming roll dimension and thickness reduction on deformation inhomogeneity is established by means of experimental tests and a developed FE model. Vickers microhardness–strain relationship is developed for the analyzed material (low carbon steel AISI-1010) by correlating the microhardness measurements and effective strain fields as predicted by an axisymmetric numerical model of a compression test. A non-linear finite element model of roll drawing process is developed for a thorough understanding of process parameters effect on deformation inhomogeneity. Thus, in order to encompass the wide range of process conditions, an inhomogeneity index, calculated as the coefficient of variation of effective strain, is used. The numerical results showed that the inhomogeneity factor of flat wires produced with roll drawing is highly dependent on area reduction.