Ring blank design and its effect on combined radial and axial ring rolling

In conventional ring rolling, it is difficult to achieve a large increase in the ring height. This paper proposes a new combined radial and axial ring rolling process, which can achieve a large increase in both the ring diameter and height. During the proposed process, the geometry of the ring blank is of great importance because it determines the distribution of the radial ring rolling process and the subsequent axial ring rolling process. Therefore, this paper is aimed to reveal the effect of the geometry of the ring blank on the combined radial and axial ring rolling process. Using the finite element (FE) method, the deformation characteristics of the ring are first investigated. Then, the effect of the geometry of the ring blank, axial height H 0 , outer diameter D 0 , and thickness t 0 , on the geometry development and inhomogeneous deformation of the final rolled ring, is revealed. The results of this research provide an important basis for the design and optimization of the ring blank in the new combined radial and axial ring rolling process.