Recent Applications of Thermo-mechanical Process Modeling

Finite element based process modeling is widely used in industry for the design and development of thermo-mechanical processes (TMP) such as forging, heat treatment, machining and joining. FE modeling with integrated manufacturing capabilities make it possible to track the evolution of key state variables, like strain, temperature, residual stress and microstructure, at any stage of the TMP. Variabilities associated with TMP can be analyzed, individually or through structured design of experiments (DOE) studies, for their impact on process responses such as residual stresses and microstructure. Additive manufacturing operations could be modeled using finite element software to predict the final part distortion. A few case studies that highlight wide ranging thermo-mechanical process modeling applications will be presented.