Use of FEM numerical simulation approach for surface rolling process control

Surface rolling is an effective method to improve the detail fatigue and damage tolerance characteristics especially in stress concentration zones for metal parts made from high strength steels.The main focus of this study is on applying a virtual simulation to control the surface hardening after the rolling process.Effective control of hardening quality is still an issue in modern engineering.Due to large variety of stress concentrators in details (smooth shafts, fillets, mating) that require hardening it is a problem to create a universal method for controlling the quality of the hardening process.Each individual case requires series of expensive tests and researches.This article discusses the use of the finite element modelling (FEM) for the rolling process quality control after hardening.The use of the FE method accompanied with the ring-cut experimental method allows minimizing financial and time costs of hardening quality control.The FE sample is cut into rings and then transversely dissected.The ring diameter is reduced due to residual compressive stresses inside the ring.The indicator of qualitative hardening in the FE model is the distribution of residual compressive stresses throughout the hardened area.The obtained results (decreased diameter) are verified by experiments using the ring-cut method.Shaft surface rolling is modeled by MSC Marc/Mentat 2016 software and the ring-cut method to be described as an experimental arbitrary method for the hardening quality control.The methodology described in this article can be effectively applied to the control of hardening quality after surface rolling and its implementation in manufacture can significantly reduce the financial and time costs.