Coordination Mechanism and Intelligent Regulation of Simultaneous Forming of Hollow Shaft-shaped Holes in Aluminum Alloys

doi:10.3901/JME.260179

Abstract

Abstract: A new manufacturing process is proposed to address the high weight, cost, and energy consumption associated with conventional steel hollow railway axles. In this approach, 7xxx series aluminum alloy is utilized to replace steel, and a shape-hole synchronous forming method is employed for the production of hollow axle components. A finite-element model of the 7075 aluminum alloy hollow axle forming process is established in ABAQUS. The influences of reduction ratio, roll yaw angle, and mandrel advance amount on rolling-lock phenomena during skew rolling are analyzed, along with the effects of dual-roll rotational speed and yaw angle on wall thickness uniformity and ovality. A dual-input dual-output fuzzy controller is implemented to regulate roll rotational speed and gripper traction velocity, thereby enhancing the accuracy of geometric data acquisition. The internal expansion ratio is identified as a critical indicator for predicting rolling-lock occurrences. Improper parameter selection is demonstrated to initiate rolling-lock and terminate the process prematurely. Conversely, excessively low roll speeds or yaw angles are found to deteriorate wall thickness uniformity and induce localized ovality increases. Through coupling of the fuzzy controller with the finite-element solver, real-time adjustment of roll and gripper motions is achieved. After fuzzy control implementation, data fluctuation is confined within the 0.07-0.15 range, and peak-to-valley deviation is reduced by approximately 38%. The results confirm that fuzzy-controlled acquisition of geometric data effectively improves wall thickness uniformity and circularity, providing a new approach for intelligent manufacturing of high-precision aluminum alloy hollow axles.

Key words: shape-hole synchronization, 7075 aluminum alloy, hollow axle, fuzzy control, algorithm optimization

CLC Number:

TG156

SHU Xuedao, CHEN Yusen, WANG Ying, DAI Yuechen, ZUO Jinrong, ZHANG Qingdong. Coordination Mechanism and Intelligent Regulation of Simultaneous Forming of Hollow Shaft-shaped Holes in Aluminum Alloys[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2025, 62(6): 121-131.

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