JMEPEG (2016) 25:2536–2541 ÓASM International

DOI: 10.1007/s11665-016-2108-2 1059-9495/$19.00

3D Finite Element Analysis of Spider Non-isothermal

Forging Process
Ling Niu, Wei Wei, Kun Xia Wei, Igor V. Alexandrov, and Jing Hu

(Submitted October 30, 2015; in revised form April 16, 2016; published online May 10, 2016)

The differences of effective stress, effective strain, velocity field, and the load-time curves between the spider
isothermal and non-isothermal forging processes are investigated by making full use of 3D FEA, and
verified by the production experiment of spider forging. Effective stress is mainly concentrated on the pin,
and becomes lower closer to the front of the pin. The maximum effective strain in the non-isothermal
forging is lower than that in the isothermal. The great majority of strain in the non-isothermal forging
process is 1.76, which is larger than the strain of 1.31 in the isothermal forging. The maximum load
required in the isothermal forging is higher than that in the non-isothermal. The maximum experimental
load and deformation temperature in the spider production are in good agreement with those in the non-
isothermal FEA. The results indicate that the non-isothermal 3D FEA results can guide the design of the
spider forging process.

ambient temperature (Ref 10). In the cold precision forging

Keywords cold forging, finite element analysis, non-isothermal,
spider
1. Introduction
Tripod constant velocity (TCV) universal joint is an axially
retractable coupling in automatic transmission vehicles, offer-
ing lower plunging resistance to reduce noise and vibration
(Ref 1). Spider is one of important safety parts of TCV uni-
versal joint, which has high requirements for its complicated
geometry shapes, dimensional accuracy, and mechanical prop-
erties. However, it is difficult to control the geometry shape and
the flow properly in the cold forging process.
Cold forging as the main near-net-shape technique has been
applied to the complex parts (such as spider, shaft, inner, and
outer race) of constant velocity joint (Ref 2-4). Many works
have been conducted on friction model (Ref 1), geometric
accuracy and error analysis (Ref 5), optimization and design of
TCV universal joint (Ref 6, 7). 3D re-meshing based on the
body-fitted mapping method was proposed for thermos-vis-
coelastic finite element analysis (FEA) of the spider hot forging
(Ref 8). Influence of the material ductility and the friction
between the part and the die on the damage occurrence was
carried out for the spider cold forging by a fully isothermal 3D
finite element methodology (Ref 9). The punch taper angle
effect on metal flow, extrusion force and equivalent stress of
three-pillar universal joint pin were investigated by 3D FEA at
Ling Niu, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changzhou
University, Changzhou 213164, PeopleÕs Republic of China; Wei Wei,
Kun Xia Wei, and Jing Hu, School of Materials Science and
Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, PeopleÕs
Republic of China; and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials Surface
Science and Technology, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164,
PeopleÕs Republic of China; and Igor V. Alexandrov, Department of
Physics, Ufa State Aviation Technical University, 12 K. Marx St., Ufa,
Russia450000. Contact e-mail: benjamin.wwei@163.com.
process, temperature induced by high-speed plastic deformation
and friction between the part and the die has an effect on the
forging accuracy, quality, and service life. However, tempera-
ture effect is neglected in the processing of spider cold forging
by numerical simulations and physical experiments (Ref 9, 10).
The present work is motivated to examine the differences of
effective stress, effective strain, velocity field, and the load-time
curves between the spider isothermal and non-isothermal
forging process by making full use of 3D FEA, and verified
by the production experiment of spider.
2. Model Building and Simulation Control
2.1 Mathematical Model of FEA
2.1.1 Rigid-Plastic Finite Element Formulations. Ac-
cording to the characteristics of precision plastic forming, rigid
plastic finite element method is adopted. Based on the variation
principle, the material incompressible condition and the first-
order variation processing are introduced into rigid plastic finite
element method. The function is built by penalty function
method:
Z Z Z
a
P¼ r  edV  pi vi dS þ e_ 2V dV ðEq 1Þ
2
V Sp V
in which, S is the boundary region, V is the volume of plastic
zone, Sp is the boundary area of stress, e is the effective strain,
 is the effective stress, a is a very large positive penalty con-
r
stant, viis the real velocity field, pi is the stress boundary condi-
tions, and e_ V ¼ e_ ij dij , e_ ij is the strain velocity. Function
conducted by variation processing can be written as follows:
Z Z Z
 deds þ a e_ V d_eV dV 
r pi dvi ¼ 0: ðEq 2Þ
V V Sp

2536—Volume 25(6) June 2016 Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

2.1.2 Heat Transfer Equations.
(1) Basic thermal equations
The temperature field of a billet must satisfy the heat
balance differential equation:
@T
kD2 T þ q ¼ qc ; ðEq 3Þ
@t
where k is the heat conductivity coefficient, T is the tem-
perature, q is the density, c is specific heat, t is time, and q
is the volume heat source, which can be written as follows:
q ¼ c_er: ðEq 4Þ
Here c is the efficiency of plastic deformation work convert-
ing into heat, and the value is generally taken as 0.9-0.95.
(2) Boundary conditions
The boundary conditions refer to the thermal exchange
between the billet surface and the surrounding environ-
ment, which can be divided into the free surface and
contact surface with the die. Free surfaces transmit heat
into the environment mainly by the convection and radi-
ation. On the basis of heat transfer principle, the convec-
tion equation can be written as follows:
qc ¼ hc ðT  Tm Þ: ðEq 5Þ
Here hc is the convective transfer coefficient. The radia-
tion heat exchange follows the Stefan-Boltzmann princi-
ple, which can be written as follows:
qc ¼ abðT 4  Tm4 Þ; ðEq 6Þ
where a is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant and its value
is 5.768 9 108 W/m2/K. b is the billet surface emissiv-
ity.The temperature difference on the contact surface be-
tween the billet and the die causes the heat exchange.
The equation can be written as follows:
qd ¼ hðT  Td Þ; ðEq 7Þ
where h is the coefficient of contact conductivity be-
tween the billet and the die. Td is the temperature on the
contact surface between the billet and the die.
2.2 Geometrical Model
The spider billet is made of the 20Cr steel rod with the
diameter of 32 mm, the length of 56 mm. The forging die is
made of the Cr12MoV steel. Figure 1 shows the spider part
drawing. The small chamfer, rounded corner may be neglected
without loss of the calculation accuracy. Considering the spider
symmetry, only one-third of the whole part has been simulated.
3D geometrical models of the die, the assembly drawing, and
knock-out pin are built in Fig. 2 according to their actual
dimensions. The billet is assumed as the elastic-plastic
deformation model, and the die is defined as the rigid body.
The flow stress of the billet follows the equation:
"  1:1 #
T  20
0:7
 ¼ ð688 þ 92e Þð1 þ 0:0004 ln e_ Þ 1 
r :
1300
ðEq 8Þ
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
2.3 Simulation Control of Spider Forging Process
Spider cold forging deformation is belonged to bulk forming
with intense stress and large strain, in which the local strain is
very large. Taking into account thermal effects, the quasi-
stationary thermo-mechanical coupling and incremental itera-
tive solution algorithm of Newton-Raphson is applied in the
finite element solution. Due to the material incompressible,
meshing is based on the Herrman formula, namely, the 3D
tetrahedron incompressibility method. The simulation parame-
ters and actual processing parameters of spider are shown in
Tables 1 and 2, respectively.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Effective Stress and Strain
Figure 3 shows the effective stress fields of the spider non-
isothermal and isothermal forging processes. The effective
stress is mainly concentrated on the pin, and becomes lower
closer to the front of the pin. However, the maximum effective
stress in the non-isothermal process is lower than that in the
isothermal. In the non-isothermal forging process, there is a
higher effective stress nearby the center hole, while no distinct
changes of the effective stress in the isothermal process are
observed. The main reason for this difference is that in the
non-isothermal conditions, the die cooling and deformation
heating interact each other. In the early deformation, the die
cooling plays a significant role, where the temperature
between the billet and the die drops. At the final stage of
deformation, with the increase of deformation regions, the
deformation heat increases, and the lowest temperature
gradually increases. The highest temperature is in the center
regions, which is hardly affected by the die cooling, so the
temperature in the center regions rises. Meanwhile, the degree
of the plastic deformation increases, and the deformation is
more uniform.
Figure 4 shows the temperature distribution in the spider non-
isothermal forging. The heat-affected zone is concentrated
nearby the pin root and the center hole. However, in the
isothermal conditions, the temperature always maintains constant
so that the deformation resistance is larger. Thus, the effective
stress is higher than that in the non-isothermal forging process.
Effective stress represents the amount of the undergone force,
and effective strain reflects the extent and homogeneity of
deformation in a billet. The maximum effective strain in the non-
isothermal forging is lower than that in the isothermal forging.
Although the maximum effective strain in the non-isothermal
forging process is lower than that in the isothermal, the great
majority of strain in the non-isothermal forging is 1.76, larger than
the strain of 1.31 in the isothermal forging. Moreover, because of
not taking account the weakening of deformed zone die due to the
thermal softening in Fig. 5(b), the local deformation nearby the
root of the pin is much less homogenous than that in Fig. 5(a),
leading to the larger local effective strain in one small area nearby
the pin root. Therefore, the maximum effective strain in the non-
isothermal forging is lower than that in the isothermal, indicating
that plastic deformation is more homogenous in the non-
isothermal forging that that in the isothermal forging.
Volume 25(6) June 2016—2537
 Pin length

Pin diameter
D

R1
R2 β

(a) The spider (b) The knock-out pin

Fig. 1 A drawing of spider and knock-out pin. (a) The spider, (b) the knock-out pin

(a) Spider forging die (b) Die setup

(c) Spider (d) Knock-out pin

Fig. 2 3D models of a spider forging. (a) Spider forging die, (b) die setup, (c) spider, (d) knock-out pin

3.2 Velocity Fields
From the velocity fields, the flow velocity, and trend of the
interior metal flow, the shaping of the billet can be predicted. In
the non-isothermal forging as shown in Fig. 6(a), the rate of
velocity is larger than that in the isothermal as shown in
Fig. 6(b). In the cold non-isothermal forging process, with the
downward of the knock-out pin, the deformation-induced heat
and friction heat between the part and the die increase; the billet
flows rapidly into the pin hole, resulting in the formation of
complex stress and strain states nearby the pin root. In contrast,
due to neglecting the temperature changes, the large forming
resistance force leads to a lower velocity in the isothermal
forging, which is consistent with the results of the effective
strain and stress in Fig. 3 and 5.
3.3 The Load-Time Curves
The time history of loads in the spider forging process is
shown in Fig. 7. In the initial stage of forging, there is little
difference of the load between the non-isothermal and the
isothermal processes. In the middle term, the difference

2538—Volume 25(6) June 2016 Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

Table 1 Simulation parameters
Parameters Values

The billet 20Cr

The die Cr12MoV
Density, q, kg/m3 7.9
Specific heat, c, kJ/kg °C 0.46
Billet conductivity coefficient, kw, W/m °C 7.12
Die conductivity coefficient, kd, W/m °C 44
Die initial temperature, Td, °C 20
Billet initial temperature, Tw, °C 20
Environment initial temperature, Te, °C 20
Convective transfer coefficient, hc, N/S mm °C 0.004
Contact transfer coefficient, h, N/S mm °C 4
Friction factor 0.12
Speed of top (bottom) knock-out pin, mm/s 10
Thickness of punching recess, mm 4
Tolerance, mm 0.046
Displacement increment steps, Ds, mm 0.37
The mesh number of billet 15,000
The total number of simulation steps 72
Step increment to save 2

Table 2 Parameters of spider forging

Process parameters Values

Knock-out pin convex diameter, D, mm 23

Draft angle, b, ° 15
Top corner radius of knock-out pin, R1, mm 2
Bottom corner radius of knock-out pin, R2, mm 5
Pin diameter, mm 20.45
Pin length, mm 16.2

Fig. 3 Effective stress fields of the spider forging process with (a) the non-isothermal, (b) the isothermal

becomes significantly larger. At the final stage, the load
required in the isothermal forging is higher than that in the non-
isothermal. In fact, in the initial non-isothermal forging, the
deformation-induced heat is lower, being accompanied with
heat exchange through the dies, resulting in no more differences
of the loads. With an increase of time, the lower load can be
attributed to the effect of deformation-induced heat. In the
isothermal forging process, the temperature is always at the
ambient without considering the heat exchanges. The effective
stress, the effective strain, and the deformation resistance force
are larger. Therefore, the load is much higher than that in the
non-isothermal in the final forming stage. Furthermore, in the
spider forging analysis, the friction factor is taken as 0.12 (Ref
10). It is meaningful to improve the lubrication not only for
decreasing the forging load but also for the damage occurrence
(Ref 9).

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance Volume 25(6) June 2016—2539

Fig. 4 Temperature distributions in the spider non-isothermal forging process (a) the medium stage, (b) the final stage

Fig. 5 Effective strain fields in the spider forging process with (a) the non-isothermal, (b) the isothermal

Fig. 6 Velocity fields in the spider forging process with (a) the non-isothermal, (b) the isothermal

4. Validation of the Model
The experiment was conducted to validate the proposed
model by comparing the forging load and the deformation
temperature between the experimental measurements and sim-
ulation results. The experimental parameters of spider forging are
shown in Table 2. The forging load and the deformation
temperature were measured. The comparison of the maximum
load and deformation temperature between experimental mea-
surements and simulations is shown in Table 3. The billets at
different stages of spider cold forging process are shown in
Fig. 8. The experimental results are in good agreement with that
in the non-isothermal FEA, indicating that the non-isothermal 3D
FEA results are consistent with the actual production.

2540—Volume 25(6) June 2016 Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

 600 (2) The great majority of strain in the non-isothermal forg-
Isothermal ing is 1.76, which is larger than the strain of 1.31 in the
500 isothermal forging. However, the maximum effective
strain in the spider non-isothermal forging is lower than
400 Non-isothermal
that in the isothermal forging, indicating that plastic
Load/ KN

deformation is more homogenous in the non-isothermal

forging that that in the isothermal forging.
300 (3) The rate of velocity in the spider non-isothermal forging
is larger than that in the isothermal forging.
200 (4) The load required in the spider isothermal forging is
higher than that in the non-isothermal forging. The max-
100 imum experimental load and the deformation tempera-
ture in the spider production are in good agreement with
0 those in the non-isothermal FEA.
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0

Fig. 7 The load-time curves in the spider forging process

Acknowledgments
Table 3 Comparison of the load and deformation The authors are grateful to be supported by Natural Science
temperature between measurements and simulations Foundation of Jiangsu Province, P. R. China under Grants
BK2012594 and BK20131144, the Science Project of Changzhou,
The max. The max. P. R. China under Grant CZ20130021, the Project Funded by the
Deformation conditions load, kN temperature, °C Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher
Education Institutions (PAPD) under Grant No. [2014]9, and the
Experimental measurements 490 400
Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Non-isothermal FEA 511 362
Isothermal FEA 560 20
within the Framework of the Design Part of the State Task No.
11.2540.2014/K Educational Organization of Higher Education.

Fig. 8 The billets at different stages of spider cold forging process
5. Conclusions
The differences of effective stress, effective strain, velocity
field, and the load-time curves between the spider isothermal and
non-isothermal forging process are investigated by making full use
of 3D FEA, and verified by the production experiment of spider.
(1) Effective stress is mainly concentrated on the pin and
becomes lower closer to the front of the pin in the spi-
der non-isothermal forging process. However, the maxi-
mum effective stress in the non-isothermal is lower than
that in the isothermal.
References
1. C.H. Lee and A.A. Polycarpou, A Phenomenological Friction Model of
Tripod Constant Velocity (CV) Joints, Tribol. Int., 2010, 43, p 844–858
2. K. Lange, Some Aspects of the Development of Cold Forging to a
High-Tech Precision Technology, J. Mater. Process. Technol., 1992,
35, p 245–257
3. S. Onodera and K. Sawai, Current Cold-Forging Techniques for the
Manufacture of Complex Precision Near-Net-Shapes, J. Mater.
Process. Technol., 1992, 35, p 385–396
4. Z. Gronostajski and M. Hawryluk, The Main Aspects of Precision
Forging, Arch. Civil Mech. Eng., 2008, 8, p 39–55
5. X. Chen, Geometric Accuracy and Error Analysis of the Tripod
Constant Velocity Joint, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai,
2009
6. B.S. Shi, Standardization and Structure Design of the Main Parameters
for Tripod Universal Joint, Bearing, 2008, 12, p 9–15
7. I. Watson, B.G. Prusty, and J. Olsen, Conceptual Design Optimization
of a Constant-Velocity Coupling, Mech. Mach. Theory, 2013, 68, p 18–
34
8. J.R. Cho and D.Y. Yang, Three-Dimensional Finite Element Simulation
of a Spider Hot Forging Process Using a New Remeshing Scheme, J.
Mater. Process. Technol., 2000, 99, p 219–225
9. A. Cherouat, K. Saanouni, and Y. Hammi, Improvement of Forging
Process of a 3D Complex Part with Respect to Damage Occurrence, J.
Mater. Process. Technol., 2003, 142, p 307–317
10. J.M. Yan, C.Y. Wang, W. Li, Z.C. Tian, and H.E. Zhang, Influences of
Taper Angle of Punch on Radical Cold Extrusion Process of Three-
Pillar Universal Joint Pin, Forg. Stamp. Technol., 2003, 38(2), p 81–84

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance Volume 25(6) June 2016—2541