Design and optimization of Al-2024 Siemens generator fan blade forging process

Blade forging is an intricate process due to complicated geometry، high dimensional accuracy، complicated material flow، varying and sometimes very thin thicknesses. As a powerful tool، numerical simulation is used in different steps of designing process. Mechanical properties (stress-strain curves) of the material and friction factor of contact surface are of the most important inputs of the simulation. Thus، cylinder and ring compression experiments were conducted to obtain these inputs for Al-2024 used in forging of 202 MVA Siemens generator fan blade. Because of high costs of blade forging and suitability of cylinder side-pressing this experiments were used to evaluate the compression tests and simulations. Good accordance was observed between simulation and experiment. Final forging die cavity and then preforms needed to produce a sound part are modeled. Designed preforming steps include extrusion، bending and upsetting. Blade final forging step was simulated in different temperatures of die and workpiece and strain rates and the optimum condition was determined.