Numerical and Experimental Analysis of Attaching-Mandrel Process Under Multi-Pass Cold Spinning Process on Superalloy GH3030

Abstract The superalloy products formed by multi-pass conventional spinning are widely used in rotary forming parts with complex shapes. As the connection of each forming pass, the attaching-mandrel process has an important influence on forming quality and production efficiency. The hot spinning process is usually adopted in superalloy forming because its poor plasticity in normal temperature, meanwhile, it brings the poor surface quality of the parts and huge energy consumption. For this reason, the cold spinning and the attaching-mandrel process of nickel-base superalloy GH3030 are studied. The combination method of experiment and simulation is used to study the attaching-mandrel process based on one-forward-pass spinning process. The effects of pass pitch and the attaching-mandrel velocity on the tool forces, parts stress field, strain field and wall thickness distribution are analyzed. The microstructure of the part is divided into three layers: outer, middle and inner layer. The grain size of each layer is compared. Then the effect of different pass pitch on the grain structure is clarified. The results show that the reasonable pass pitch and the attaching-mandrel velocity can improve the forming quality and production efficiency. The multi-pass cold spinning process on superalloy GH3030 is feasible. The excessive pass pitch can cause seriously grain elongation, the grain boundaries are blurred, and even cracking.