Abstract
Following the previous work on work-piece optimization and thermal analysis for flash-less cold forging of front and back hubs of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) propeller, the present study aims to obtain the optimum work-piece dimensions for the propeller blade. The work-piece used is of AISI AL6061 and the die material is die steel (AISI D2). The modeling and simulations are performed by using SOLID WORKS SP47.2007 and DEFORM-F3 3D, respectively. First, the work-piece thickness is optimized by keeping the area constant; then the area and flash thickness are varied and optimized. The result is successfully verified by thermal analysis and experiment. It is found that, for the present case, the optimum work-piece area, thickness, and flash thickness are 342.21 mm(2), 3 mm and 0.2 mm, respectively, and by using this work-piece, the trimming operation could be avoided in the actual forging operation which is done on a 100-ton C-type machine.