There exists a severe shortage of experimental data pertinent to basic deformation processes such as forging, extrusion, and rolling. The lack of appropriate data has been a major obstacle to progress in understanding the fundamental mechanics and materials science associated with forming. Funds will be used to purchase a custom-built, special performance load frame to equip the deformation processes laboratory. The hydraulic system on the frame can deliver large loads and high displacement rates simultaneously. Such capabilities do not exist on the large majority of load frames but are needed to access the regimes of stress and strain rate typical of industrial forming processes. The load frame will be used for a variety of forming experiments in support of the goals to better understand deformation processes and to develop accurate simulation methods for such processes. The research emphasizes tightly coupled experimentation and model development using unique experiments that are designed especially to isolate particular physical phenomena. Such data motivate the structure of forming models and provide the bases to assess modeling assumptions. The deformation process laboratory will be a general purpose facility suitable for studying a wide range of deformation processes, evaluating constitutive model parameters of workpiece materials, and performing tooling design case studies.
