V. Alimirzaloo*, M. H. Sadeghi and F. R. Biglari
The Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, vol. 26, no. 6, pp.1801-1810, 2012

Abstract : In this research non-isothermal forging process of an aerofoil blade was simulated using 3-dimentional finite element method. Then an optimization approach integrated with the finite element method has been applied to optimize the blade forging process. Preform shape and angular position of the die parting line were optimized in order to minimize the flash volume, strain non-uniformity and lateral forces generated during the forging operation. The optimization method includes the finite element approach and the response surface method for the formulation of the objective functions. Using the multi-objective genetic algorithm, Pareto front of global optimal solutions was generated. Then a fuzzy-based membership value assignment method was used to select the best compromise solution. The simulation of the blade forging process was verified by experimental test. Results show that the numerical results and experimental tests have a good agreement. Waste material and lateral forces generated during the forging operation is decreased with optimization method significantly. Therefore the proposed approach is an appropriate method for multi-objective optimization of the forging process of aerofoil blades.

Keyword : Optimization; Finite element analysis; Aerofoil blade; Forging; Genetic algorithm; Response surface method