Investigation of forging performance for AA6082

Ozkan Tunc1 , Ilyas Kacar2* , Fahrettin Ozturk3,4

1
Ditas Dogan Yedek Parca Imalat and Teknik A.S., Nigde, Turkey.
2
Mechatronics Engineering Department, Nigde Omer Halisdemir University, Nigde, Turkey.
3
Mechanical Engineering Department, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey.
4
Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc., Ankara, Turkey.

Abstract

6XXX series aluminum alloys are generally excellent alternatives to steels for many
forged parts in aerospace and automotive industries. In this study, the forging
performance of the 6082 aluminum alloy is investigated in order to replace the existing
material for forged steel parts. The effect of artificial aging of the alloy on the
microstructure and mechanical properties is studied. Optimum aging conditions are
determined. Results reveal that AA6082 could be a good replacement for applications
where shock and vibrational loads exist. The rod end part currently manufactured from
AISI1045 can be replaced by AA6082 without any design changes. The major
drawback is that the cold forging of the aged alloy is poor due to its brittle nature and
crack initiations. Therefore, warm or hot forging is recommended to overcome the poor
forgeability.

Keywords: Al-Si alloy; AA6082; artificial aging; hot forging; fatigue; automotive.

*
Corresponding author: [email protected], +90 388 225 46 48
1. INTRODUCTION

Reducing the fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions is a challenging issue in
automotive industry. Design changes and using lighter materials are some strategies
used by the car part manufacturers. 6082 aluminum alloy (AA6082) is a good candidate
as an alternative material. Because it is lighter than steel and it is abundantly available
among other aluminum alloys. Mechanical properties improved by aging process are
comparable to the steels. Therefore, this alloy has the potential to be a good replacement
for steel parts in the suspension, chassis, and engine. For example, in the aviation
industry, the arms in the flight control mechanism and the brake bodies are often made
of AA6082. However, due to the strict regulations in the aerospace and automotive
industry, it is a problematic situation to determine whether a one-to-one replacement
with the use of a new material is possible without changing the design of the part. A
change in design can irrevocably lead to additional development time, proses, and
expertise costs for the manufacturers since the part needs to meet the same set of
requirements. It is well-known that trial and error process is not a cost effective method.
Also an inverse engineering is often not possible since the applications are unique.
Whether thermo-mechanical treatments can solve this problem is the primary scope of
this study.

Aging is a time and temperature dependent heat treatment process. AA6082 is one of
the suitable materials for artificial aging. Different aging conditions lead to different
mechanical properties. AA6082 is often artificial aged at 160 °C, after dissolving at
500 °C [1]. While the tensile strength of AA6082-O which is not heat treated alloy is
around 170 MPa, it can reach 427 MPa after aging [2]. However, the microstructure
becomes brittle and its impact energy absorption ability decreases. On the other hand,
the strength suffers when the forgeability increases [3]. It has been reported that both
strength and forgeability decreases in the absence of dissolving [4]. Thus, a careful
aging process design is needed to attain both high strength and high toughness together.

The forgeability of AA6082 is poor for cold forging due to crack initiations [5]. The
forgeability increases at elevated temperatures up to 160 °C [6]. The forgeability can
increase up to 159% with warm forging [7]. Grain recovery effects the deformability
[8]. The process temperature of the hot forging acts as a dissolving process. The

2
artificial aging after the hot forging leads to a homogeneous grain distribution in the
microstructure [9]. When hot billets without extrusion are forged directly, a
homogeneous micro structure and a more economical forging are guaranteed [10].

The forgeability increases by increasing soaking duration due to the homogeneous

distribution of the phases inside the microstructure at the dissolution stage [11-13]. A 15
minutes waiting time at 540 °C is suggested for dissolution [14]. Water is frequently
used as a cooling medium. Fast cooling ensures the smaller-sized Mg2Si solid
precipitates in the microstructure. Finer or distorted precipitates can cause the strength
increase [15,16]. The β''-(Mg5Si6) phase seen up to 300 C is the main factor in
increasing the strength. When it transforms into β'-(Mg1.8Si) and β-(Mg2Si), the
strength decreases. Increasing the number of the solid precipitates in the microstructure
makes the material brittle [17]. The β'' phase is rich in dislocations [18,19]. Increasing
temperature decreases the number of dislocations [20].

The hardening behavior of the alloy is clearly seen during successive forgings [21]. It is
important to define plastic deformation in simulations. The alloy is sensitive to
deformation rate during forging, and its tensile strength increases at high strain rates
[17].

AA6082 alloy presents high flexibility in terms of mechanical properties depending on

the heat treatment and deformation conditions. The novelty of the work is that the
optimum heat treatment conditions have been investigated to replace the material of the
automotive rod end part. The part was manufactured by hot forging for AISI1045 steel,
meanwhile AA6082-O (ISO: AlSi1MgMn) alloy has been investigated as a replacement
of it. Replacing a structural part with the lighter one without sacrificing safety,
manufacturing time, and low cost is of primary concern for the car part manufacturers.
The effect of aging on the microstructure was also presented. Optimum values were
used in fatigue and hot forging simulations. Press force requirement for forging, the burr
ratio, the processing time, the residual stress, the deformation, and the service life of the
rod end were compared.

2. MATERIAL AND EXPERIMENTS

3
Extruded rods with a 20 mm diameter were used for sample preparation. The
compositions of AA6082-O and AISI1045 are given in Table 1. The chemical
compositions are critical for the required heat treatment, the material microstructure,
and the mechanical properties of the materials.

Table 1 Chemical compositions of AA6082 and AISI1045 (wt.%)

AISI C Si Mn P Cu Cr Mo Ni Al S Sn
1045 0.44 0.26 0.65 0.007 0.18 0.15 0.04 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.015
AA Mg Si Mn Fe Cu Cr Ti Ni Al Zn Co
6082 0.99 3.54 1.84 1.44 3.76 1.39 0.68 2.38 72.69 2.62 1.96

2.1. Heating and cooling sequences

Heating temperature and duration, types of quenching medium, sequential treatments

and soaking time were investigated. The alloy was heated up to the dissolution
temperature at a heating rate of 36 °C/s. When the temperature reached the set value, the
samples were kept for 2 - 10 hours inside the furnace. Then the samples were air cooled
or quenched in water or water-polymer mixtures. The mixtures contained 25% polymer,
50% polymer, and 75% polymer, respectively. The dissolved samples were then
artificially aged at 175 - 220 °C during 2-10 hours. The artificial aging process was also
repeated sequentially for other samples. A scheme of the aging treatment is shown in
Fig. 1. Quenching environments composed of 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%
polymer-water mixtures were also investigated to determine their effects on the
mechanical properties.

Fig. 1 A scheme for the heat treatment cycle

4
The specimen designation for tests is summarized in Table 2. It also gives their ultimate
tensile strength (UTS) and strain at break.

Table 2 The specimen and their tensile results

Soaking Artificial Artificial Strain

Test Soaking UTS at break
duration aging temp. aging Quenching
No. temp. (°C ) (MPa) (%)
(h) (°C ) duration (h)
0 (*) - - - - - 166 12.83
1 500 4 - - Air 204 9.12
2 500 6 - - Air 194 8.37
3 500 8 - - Air 218 9.69
4 500 10 - - Air 148 9.12
5 500 4 - - Water 238 8.16
6 500 6 - - Water 244 10.9
7 500 8 - - Water 242 10.69
8 500 10 - - Water 248 9.91
9 500 2 175 2 Air 218 9.88
10 500 2 175 2 Water 271 8.69
11 500 2 175 2 Water 232 8.79
12 500 2 175 2 %25 polymer 230 8.93
13 500 2 175 2 %50 polymer 217 10.03
14 500 2 185 2 Air 384 8.81
15 500 2 185 4 Water 249 5.96
16 500 2 185 4 %25 Polymer 272 7.06
17 500 2 185 4 %50 polymer 273 6.89
18 500 2 185 4 Air 406 7.42
19 500 2 185 6 Air 399 5.25
20 500 2 185 8 Air 391 3.64
21 500 2 185 10 Air 373 4.56
22 545 2 195 2 Water 386 6.89
23 545 2 195 4 Water 391 8.71
24 500 2 195 6 Water 257 7.71
25 500 2 195 6 %25 polymer 265 7.48
26 500 2 195 6 %50 polymer 268 3.90
27 545 2 195 6 Water 365 3.78
28 545 2 195 8 Water 341 3.98
29 545 2 195 10 Water 345 9.67
30 500 2 220 10 Water 156 10.76
31 500 2 220 10 %25 polymer 153 10.12
32 500 2 220 10 %50 polymer 150 10.28
33 500 2 220 10 Air 155 10.56
(*) AA6082-O was tested for comparison and validation.

2.2. Testing procedures for tensile strength, fatigue strength, impact resistance,
and hardness

A Shimadzu Autograph 100 kN testing machine with a video type extensometer system
was used to perform the tensile tests. The monotonic tension curve (strain ε and stress σ)
was constructed in the linear coordinate system by using specimens prepared following

5
the ASTM B557 M 02A standard [22] as seen in Fig. 2a. A 25 mm/min strain rate was
applied for tensile tests for the aged specimens, while 1, 25, and 100 mm/min were used
for determination of the strain rate sensitivity parameters in the jump test. Fig. 2b and c
show the dimensions of the fatigue and impact test specimens prepared according to
ASTM E606-92 [23] and ISO 148-1 [24] respectively. Fatigue tests were conducted at a
constant frequency of 1 Hz, the load was fully reversed and the amplitude was kept
constant to provide a zero mean stress. Since there is no endurance limit for nonferrous
materials, the data was collected after 1 million cycles for AA6082.

(a)

(b)

(c)
Fig. 2 Dimensions of (a) tensile (b) fatigue (c) impact test specimens (mm)

6
Hardness measurements were carried out according to the ASTM E92 [25] standard by
applying a 5 kg load for 15 seconds using the Vickers hardness measurement method.
The hardness reading regions on the specimens are given in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 The measurement points for hardness

2.3. Microstructural investigation

For cold molding, the specimens were placed inside an epoxy filling material. They
were grinded, polished, and etched, respectively. For these procedures, a Struers
Labopol-5 automatic polishing unit was used. Sandpapers in the order of 320, 500,
1200, 2400, and 4000 grids were used successively for grinding. Specimens were
cooled with pure water during the grinding process to prevent any microstructural
change. Diamond suspensions in the different grain sizes and corresponding polishing
fabrics were used in the polishing process. The finer grains lead to the less surface
scratches. A uniform contact between the sample surface and the polishing fabric was
confirmed during the polishing process in order to obtain a well-polished specimen
surface. Various grain-sized polishing suspensions such as 3 μm, 1 μm, 0.25 μm and
corresponding fabrics have been used. A fabric etchant was also used during the
polishing to adjust the moisture content. Modified Keller's reagent (2.0 ml HF+98.0 ml
H2O) was used for etching during a 3 seconds soaking duration. An Olympus BX-51
optical microscope with X5-100 magnifications was used to take the microstructure
images.

7
2.4. Hot forging experiment

A pair of a two-stage hot forging mold was used on a conventional screw press bench as
seen in Fig. 4. The forging parameters such as press force, burr ratio, forging time, and
mold filling rate were determined experimentally for various temperatures. The hot
forging trials were carried out in the hot forging press workshop of DİTAŞ Inc. [26,27].

Fig. 4 Hot forging press and tooling

2.5. Simulations

Finite element simulations of the hot forging and fatigue were performed. Fig. 5 shows
a 3D finite element model, initial conditions, and mold-billet geometries for the forging
simulations. The parameters such as press force, burr ratio, forging time, mold filling,
and temperature were determined from the simulations for various temperatures.
Deform © software [28] was used to perform hot forging simulations.

8
 Fig. 5 A finite element model of the hot forging process

The billet temperature was investigated between 300 - 525 oC for AA6082 and 750 -
1250 °C for AISI1045 steel for hot working conditions. Initial mold temperature was
300 °C for both materials. The simulations were repeated for 25 °C increments. Since
the geometries were non-symmetric, the three dimensional (3D) model was used.

Tetrahedron elements were used for meshing and automatic re-meshing. 32670
elements were enough for converging in the results. The mesh of the outer surface of the
mold was refined for getting accurate temperature distributions. The power function
given in Eq. (1) [29] was employed as the isotropic hardening rule combined with the
von Mises yield criterion [30] and associated flow rule to set the plasticity model for the
cylindrical Ø25x100 mm billet material. The mold tools were set as rigid bodies.

̅ = c (ε̅)n (ε̅̇)m + y
σ (Eq. 1)

Here, 𝜎̅ is the equivalent stress, 𝜀 is the plastic strain, 𝜀̅ is the equivalent plastic strain, 𝜀̅̇
is the equivalent plastic strain rate. y, c, and n are the yield point at the beginning, the
strength coefficient, and the hardening exponent respectively. While c, n, and y are

9
determined by curve fitting on the tensile curve, 𝑚 is the exponent of the strain rate
sensitivity and determined from the jump test curve. The model’s parameters were
calculated from the curves of AA6082-O because the aged alloy turns into to
AA6082-O at the hot forging temperature. The analysis time interval was set as 1
second and divided into 100 steps. The forging stroke is 50 mm. The upper mold moved
linearly in the vertical direction while the lower mold was fixed. In order to avoid waste
of time and unnecessary calculations, the upper mold was not retracted after forging.
The analysis was performed explicitly. Direct solver has been chosen as a solver since it
shortens the solution time. The coefficient of friction (μ) was defined using the
Coulomb friction model. The Coulomb friction coefficient at the tool and sample
interface was assumed to be constant and taken as 0.3.

Table 3 Material properties and model parameters

AISI1045 AA6082-O AA6082 (*)
Density (gr/cm3) 7.85 2.71 2.71
Yield strength (**) (MPa) 415.63 108.91 359.34
Maximum strength (MPa) 651.84 165.33 406
Hardening exponent, n 0.369 0.613 0.347
Strength coefficient, C (MPa) 730.421 220.207 189.759
(*) The specimen 18. (**) Proof strength for AA6082 alloy.

The fatigue simulations were carried out as the strength - life (S-N) type, with a fully
reversed loading, and a constant amplitude which provides for a zero mean stress. The
Soderbeg criterion was chosen as the mean stress correction theory, because of its
conservative nature. Material properties in Table 3 for AA6082 and AISI1045 and
experimental S-N data were used. Fatigue strength reduction factors Kf = 0.634 for
AA6082 and Kf = 0.582 for AISI1045 [31] were used. The finite element model for
fatigue analysis is given in Fig. 6. The 3D model was meshed with tetrahedron elements
and the solution was performed in a one load step. Totally 1828757 elements were used
for converging in the results.

10
 Fig. 6 A finite element model for the fatigue simulation

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1. Mechanical properties

UTSs and strains at break for all samples are shown in Fig. 7a and b. The strains of the
AA6082 samples were higher than the AISI1045 samples. It means that AA6082 has a
higher formability than AISI1045. It is seen that the aging leads to a decrease in
formability since the maximum strain is seen in AA6082-O, where artificial aging is not
applied. Fig. 7a indicates that UTSs of AA6082 samples were much lower than the
AISI1045 sample, which was about 711 MPa. The highest value of AA6082 was 406
MPa.

(a)800
700
AISI 1045 (b) 14
12
600
10
500
sUTS (MPa)

e (%)

8
400
300 6 AISI 1045
200 4

100 2
Sample numbers Sample numbers
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 101214161820222426283032 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33

Fig. 7 (a) UTSs and (b) strains at break of the AA6082 samples

11
Engineering stress vs. strain curves of the materials are given in Fig. 8. Although the
strength of the AA6082-O samples was quite low, the aged AA6082 sample was
improved significantly in strength. It has also higher formability inherently. Yield points
of the samples were noticeably distinctive.

800

700

600
AISI 1045
500 AA6082 (the sample 18)
s (MPa)

AA6082-O
400

300

200

100

0
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30
e (mm/mm)

Fig. 8 Comparison of engineering tensile curves of AA6082 and AISI1045

Hardness and the Charpy impact tests were also conducted as seen in Fig. 9. It is clear
that the hardness of AA6082 increases after all aging treatments. Increased hardness
provides more wear resistance but suffers from the toughness. However, the
energy-absorbing capability of AA6082 is higher than that of AISI1045. It is also
noticed that the hardness decreases from 175 HV to 122 HV when AA6082 was
pre-strained. Some researchers have shown that the hardness of aluminum-based alloys
has decreased with pre-strain [32-36]. However, steel-based materials have opposite
attitude [37-39].

12
 300 140

250 120

Energy (Joule)
Hardness (HV)
100
200
80
150
60
100
40
Hardness (HV) Energy (J)
50 20
Quenching environment
0 0

Fig. 9 Hardness and Charpy impact energy

The Wöhler curves were drawn as shown in Fig. 10. While the endurance limit of
AISI1045 was 300 MPa, the fatigue strength of AA6082 for more than a million cycles
was obtained for the specimen 18 with laboratory-controlled fatigue tests. It is clearly
seen no infinite life in AA6082. This is very well-known issue in aluminum alloys.

600
AA 6082 AISI 1045
Alternating Stress (MPa)

500

400
y = -64.01ln(x) + 1264.7
300 R² = 0.9345

200

100 y = -31.72ln(x) + 520.22

R² = 0.9739 Cycle (log)
0
10000 100000 1000000 10000000

Fig. 10 Wöhler curves of AISI1045 and the specimen 18

3.2 Jump test

The strain rate sensitivity coefficient "m" to be used in the plasticity equation in the
simulations was calculated by using the jump test. The jump test was performed at the
room temperature in the tensile test with 1 and 100 mm/min strain rates. A curve was
conducted as seen in Fig. 11. The figure also includes the calculation method. The curve

13
includes just true plastic data. Removing the elastic strain was explained in [40] in
detail.

100
1-100 mm/min
95
90
sT (MPa) 85
80
75
70
65
60
55 eT (mm/mm)
50
0.08 0.11 0.30 0.49 0.68 0.85 1.05 1.26 1.45 1.69 1.88

Fig. 11 Jump test curve

The results are seen in Table 4 where 𝜀1̇ and 𝜀2̇ are the strain rates before and after a
peak respectively. While 𝜎1 stands for the stress at the beginning of the peak, 𝜎𝑗 is the
stress at the peak point. 𝜎2 is the stress at the intersection point of the peak.

Table 4 Calculations from the jump peaks

𝜎1 𝜎𝑗 𝜀1̇ 𝜀2̇ 𝜎𝑗 𝜀2̇
No. 𝑚𝑗 = (ln ) / (ln )
(MPa) (MPa) (mm/min) (mm/min) 𝜎1 𝜀1̇

1 53.040 54.860 0.090 0.100 0.320

2 59.160 60.430 0.300 0.310 0.648
3 65.380 70.430 0.480 0.550 0.547
4 70.520 71.060 0.680 0.690 0.523
5 75.090 76.140 0.850 0.870 0.597
6 78.680 80.125 1.040 1.070 0.640

3.3 Microstructure evaluation

AA6082 basically contains the elements Al, Mg, Si, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn. The
most common intermetallic phase is Mg2S. This phase appears as dark regions in the
microstructure images. Fe and Mn elements lead to very small amounts of impurities. Fe
and Al form double, triple, and quadruple intermetallic phases such as Al-Fe, Al-Fe-Si
and Al-Fe-Mn-Si. Mn and Cr are elements which balance the Fe content in
α-Al12(FeMn)3Si or α-Al12 (FeCr)3Si. The α phases are detrimental to the mechanical
properties. β-Al9Fe2Si2 or β-Al5FeSi phases contain Fe and Si in the dendritic shape.

14
Intermetallic phases settle in the grain boundary. Microstructure photographs are shown
in Fig. 12 where : Al, : Mg2Si, :α-dendrite, : β-dendrite.

a b c

d e f
e e
f

g h i

f f

j k l
f

m n o

15
 q r
p

s t u

v y

Fig. 12 Optic examinations a AA6082-O b water quenching, 2 h aging at 175°C c water quenching, 4 h
aging at 175°C d water quenching, 8 h aging at 175°C e water quenching, 10 h aging at 175°C f
water+50%polymer mix quenching, 10 h aging at 175°C h water quenching, 2 h aging at 185°C i water
quenching, 4 h aging at 185°C j water quenching, 6 h aging at 185°C k water quenching, 8 h aging at
185°C l water quenching, 10 h aging at 185°C m water+50%polymer mix quenching, 10 h aging at 185°C
n: water quenching, 2 h aging at 195°C o water quenching, 4 h aging at 195°C p water quenching, 6 h
aging at 195°C q water quenching, 8 h aging at 195°C r water quenching, 10 h aging at 195°C s
water+50%polymer mix quenching, 6 h aging at 195°C t water+50%polymer mix quenching, 2 h aging at
175°C u water+50%polymer mix quenching , 4 h aging at 185°C v: water+50%polymer mix quenching, 6
h aging at 195°C y: water+50%polymer mix quenching, 10h aging at 220°C.

Lighter-colored regions in the microstructure images show essential Al elements. As the

temperature and artificial aging time increase, the grain size decreases. The amount and
size of the dendrites increase with increasing aging time. Smaller and homogeneous
precipitate distribution was obtained by quenching in the 50% polymer + water mixture.

It is observed that the coarse grains were completely dissolved in the microstructure for
the samples aged at 175 °C. The β-dendrites have a longer and thicker shape as reported
[15,16]. The micro impurities settled in the grain boundaries lead to an easier movement
of the dislocations during deformation. This provides ductility.

When the samples aged at 185 °C were compared to the ones aged at 175 °C, it is seen
that the grain size was smaller, which is especially noticeable when the aging time

16
increases. The shape of the Mg2Si precipitates becomes smaller and its amount
increases. In addition, α-dendrites and β-dendrites at 185 °C were smaller than those at
175 °C and stayed in the needle-like shapes. The highest UTS was obtained from the
sample aged at 185 °C for 4 hours. The grains were dissolved in a smaller distribution in
samples aged at 195 °C. As the aging time increases, the grain sizes decrease. The
Mg2Si phases became smaller and its amount increases. Although the α-dendrites and
β-dendrites, which are in a needle-like shape, were visible at 185 °C, they became
smaller and disappeared in the microstructure at 195 °C. Since the β''-(Mg5Si6) phase
seen up to 300 C [17], both phases were not seen between 175-220°C.

3.4 Hot forging

It is seen that the pressing force requirement decreased at elevated initial billet
temperature due to the decreasing yield point. Tables 5 and 6 compare the forging
results for AA6082 and AISI1045, respectively.

Table 5 Hot forging simulation results of AISI1045

Initial Peak Press force Burr
Mold filling
temp. (°C) temp. (°C) (tons) (%)
750 1320 1770 5.37

775 1340 1940 5.54

800 1350 1700 5.55

825 1330 1540 5.47

850 1320 1770 5.49

875 1310 1630 5.52

900 1330 1580 5.55

925 1350 1560 5.55

950 1330 1550 5.64

975 1320 1500 5.52

1000 1340 1400 5.60

17
 1025 1350 1090 5.55

1050 1290 872 5.37

1075 1290 1010 5.49

1100 1290 902 5.64

1125 1280 876 5.4

1150 1360 1000 5.47

1175 1330 715 5.40

1200 1350 727 5.64

1225 1370 801 5.55

1250 1360 715 5.52

Table 6 Hot forging simulation results of AA6082

Initial Peak Press force Burr
Mold filling
temp. (°C) temp. (°C) (tons) (%)

300 648 413 3.75

325 639 437 4.13

350 660 397 4.11

375 577 311 4.15

400 651 353 4.12

425 516 155 5.11

450 651 353 5.17

475 516 153 4.93

500 561 145 4.97

525 581 140 5.07

The forging increases the strain energy and billet temperature, as expected. The
temperature variation in the steel was relatively smaller than AA6082. When the initial

18
temperature of the AA6082 billet exceeded 450 °C, the body temperature might reach
up to the melting point locally. Melted material cannot fill the mold cavity properly and
also leads to more burr formation. The temperature change seen during hot forging was
more stable for AISI1045. It is concluded that the initial billet temperature must be less
than 450 °C.

The forged AA6082 rod ends at elevated temperatures are given in Fig. 13 for
comparison and validation. The amount of burr, the surface condition, and the mold
filling ratio can be seen from the figure. The mold cavity was not completely filled
during forging at higher temperatures than 400 °C. Thus, the amount of burr increased,
which confirmed the simulation predictions.

Fig. 13 The hot forging of the rod end at elevated temperatures

1600 (a) 700 (b)

1400
Temperature range (°C)

Temperature range (°C)

600
1200 500
1000
400
800
300
600
400 200
Min. Max Min. Max
200 100
The billet temperature (°C) The billet temperature (°C)
0 0
300 325 350 375 400 425 450 475 500 525

Fig. 14 The billet temperature ranges during the hot forging of (a) AISI1045 and (b)
AA6082

As seen in Fig. 14, the billet temperature increased during forging due to increasing
strain energy. While the maximum temperature was stable and stayed under the melting
19
point for the steel, it may excess the melting point for AA6082 causes incomplete mold
filling.

14 20
(a) 18
(b)
12
16 Min. Max.
10 14
eT (mm/mm)

eT (mm/mm)
8 12
10
6 8
4 6
Min. Max. 4
2
The billet temperature (°C) 2 The billet temperature (°C)
0 0
300 325 350 375 400 425 450 475 500 525

Fig. 15 The strain in the hot forging of (a) AISI1045 and (b) AA6082

Fig. 15 shows that the deformation of AA6082 alloy was more temperature dependent.
While AA6082 alloy has the highest forgeability at 325 °C, it was 1150 °C for the steel.
The fact that the deformation capability was decreased for AA6082 as the temperature
increases caused incomplete mold cavity due to the liquid flow of the melted material.
Considering the difference in the temperature and the specific heat capacity, which is
950 J/kg.°K for aluminum and 480 J/kg.°K for steels [41], a 39.01% saving in energy
per part can be achieved by replacing with AA6082.

(a) 1500 Min. Max (b) 250 Min. Max.

1250 200
1000
sT (MPa)

sT (MPa)

150
750
100
500
250 50

0 0
1000
1050
1100
1150
1200
1250
750
800
850
900
950

300325350375400425450475500525

The billet temperature (°C) The billet temperature (°C)

Fig. 16 The stress in the hot forging of (a) AISI1045 and (b) AA6082

As seen in Fig. 16, the residual stress remained in the forged part was lower in AA6082.
It means that the part to be produced from aluminum alloy does not need an additional
heat treatment for stress relief after the hot forging. The press force required for hot

20
forging of AA6082 alloy was also less as seen in Fig. 17. This affects the
competitiveness of the rod end manufacturers by reducing the operating and
manufacturing costs.

1450

1250

1050
Press force (tons)

850

650

450

250 The billet temperature, normalized

0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 1.00 1.10

Fig. 17 Press force requirements

3.5 Fatigue simulation

Fig. 18 shows the safety factor, yield stress, service life, and the biaxial stress
distribution results of the rod end loaded to service conditions. As can be deducted from
the safety factor solutions, the thinner section was the most sensitive to fatigue. The
lowest safety factor was 5.34 for AISI1045, while it was 1.94 for the AA6082 sample
18. The entire part has a sufficient fatigue and static stress capacity for infinite life.
Thus the replacement of AISI1045 with AA6082 is possible without sacrificing the
fatigue requirements.

21
 Fig. 18 Safety factor solutions (a) for AA6082 (b) for AISI1045. Service life (c) for
AA6082 (d) for AISI1045. Biaxial stress solution (e) for AA6082 (f) for AISI1045

From the biaxial stress solution, it can be seen that normal and shear stresses were
present at the body surface. Equivalent von Mises stress distribution is given in Fig. 19.
While the maximum equivalent stress was 41.264 MPa for AISI1045, it was 44.38 MPa
for AA6082.

Fig. 19 Stress solutions (MPa) (a) for AA6082 (b) for AISI1045

For a manufacturer in the competitive world, it is quite important to replace a structural

part with the lighter one without sacrificing safety, manufacturing time, and low cost. It

22
is a challenge to replace the material of the forged rod end part. So all vehicles having
the transmission will be lightened.

Summarizing the whole results above, the most important contributions of this study are
that the aged AA6082 sample was improved significantly in strength as explained by
Kvackaj et al. (2009) [2]. β phases playing important role in the strengthening have a
finer distribution in the microstructure up to 4 hours of aging [17]. The optimum forging
temperature is between 300 - 450 °C which is lower than that of AISI1045 [10].
Increased hardness provides more wear resistance. The fatigue life is more than a
million cycles with 1.94 safety factor which is higher than 1.5, as a rule of thumb [31].
The increased hardness and the fatigue life increase the damage tolerance like Al-Li
based alloys [42] which are another material used in the aerospace and automotive
industry. Thus, AA6082 would be a good replacement for applications where shock and
vibrational loads are to be expected due to the higher energy-absorption capability.

In this study, the mechanical test was performed to identify plasticity model parameters
and the processes were simulated. The strengthening and hardening behavior were
exposed by microstructural investigations. For the validation, hot forging experiments
were performed. Results proved that the artificially aged AA6082 could be used for a
replacement of the AISI1045 rod end without changing the part design and the
manufacturing process. The critical point is that the lower temperature requirement
leads to the more economical forging process. Hence, it becomes a cheaper alternative
among other aluminum alloys. So it makes the alloy most important for the forged part
manufacturers.

4. CONCLUSIONS

In this study, a possible replacement of AISI1045 with AA6082 was investigated for an
automotive structural part. The most suitable artificial aging conditions were determined
for AA6082. The results were used in the fatigue and hot forging simulations.
Microstructural analysis was also performed. The fatigue life of the rod end, the press
force requirement for the forging process, the burr ratio and the processing time have
been evaluated. The most important conclusions can be summarized as follows;

23
  The highest tensile strength of 406 MPa can be achieved by dissolving at 500 °C
for 2 hours, quenching in air, aging at 185 °C for 4 hours, and cooling in air.
Under these circumstances, the AA6082 rod end has at least one million cycles
service life. Although increased hardness provides more wear resistance to
AA6082, it suffers from energy-absorbing capability.
 Aged alloy’s cold forgeability is poor due to brittle nature of the material and
crack initiations. Thus warm or hot forging is recommended.
 For warm forging of the alloy, it is recommended to maintain temperature
ranges of 160 - 300 °C for a good microstructure, strength, and forging-energy
absorption capability.
 For hot forging of the alloy, more than 425 °C billet temperature is not suitable.
Because the local material melting during process causes incomplete mold
filling. It is concluded that the hot forging up to 425 °C is suitable.
 AA6082 would be a good replacement for applications where shock and
vibrational loads are to be expected due to the higher energy-absorbing
capability.
 β phases are the most effective for strengthening of AA6082. β phases have a
finer distribution in the microstructure up to 4 hours of aging. Longer aging time
results in coarser grains, dendrite formation, and reduced strength.
 AA6082 can lead to less energy consumption during manufacturing and
guarantees more economical manufacturing without sacrificing service
requirements. The rod end part currently manufactured from AISI1045 can be
replaced by AA6082 without any design changes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University Scientific Research
Projects Unit for the Grant # FEB 2018/14-BAGEP. We thank to Ditaş Yedek Parça
İmalat ve Teknik Inc. for their technical support. This study is produced from the
master's thesis which was accepted by Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University, Graduate
School of Natural and Applied Sciences with confirmation number 30, in August 07,
2020.

24
Materials availability n/a

Code availability n/a

Authors' contributions: All authors have contributed equally.

Funding: This work was supported by Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University Scientific Research Projects
Unit for the Grant # FEB 2018/14-BAGEP. This study was produced from the master's thesis which was
supervised by İlyas Kacar and accepted by Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University, Graduate School of
Natural and Applied Sciences with confirmation number 30, in August 07, 2020.

Data availability n/a

Compliance with ethical standards

Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval n/a

Consent to participate n/a

Consent to publish Yes

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