Numerical and Experimental Research on Shafts with Elliptical Section Formed by Cross Wedge Rolling

Abstract Blade is one of the significant important parts of aero-engine, and its manufacturing technology directly affects the preparation level and development speed of aero-engine. In view of the many problems existing in the current blade preforming process, this paper proposes a potential way to prepare blade preforms by using the cross wedge rolling (CWR). Furthermore, considering the shape characteristics of the blade, the blade preform with elliptical section formed by CWR was thoroughly investigated. The roll’s profile curve is of significant importance to forming quality, and its equation was was deduced based on the plane meshing principle between the roll and the rolling piece and verified by finite element (FE) analysisi and CWR experiments on self-made platform. Meanwhile, The accuracy of the established FE model was quantitatively tested and used to study the forming limit expressed by eccentricity e, and the forming limit is around 0.8 (i.e. e ≤ 0.8). Based on this, a blade preform for an aero-engine compressor was design with two elliptical sections, and it was well formed by FE model which verified the feasibility, and the research results can also be extended and applied to the preform of other non-rotating parts and other materials.