Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 26 (1991) 257-266 257

Elsevier

A new device for upsetting tests of steels at high

temperatures

E. Doremus, J. Oudin, J.P. Bricout and Y. Ravalard

Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, Unitd de Recherche Associde au CNRS 1401, GDR
Calcul des Structures, MECAMAT, Universitd de Valenciennes et du Hainaut Cambrdsis,
59326 Valenciennes Cedex, France
(Received April 26, 1990; accepted August 24, 1990)

Industrial Summary
Comprehensive analysis of forming processes requires reliable and rapid determination of stress-
strain relationships. For that purpose, the upsetting of steels is achieved on a new device with
cylindrical specimens of diameters in the range from 6 mm to 10mm. The upsetting dies are made
of two cylinders of alumina on which are placed 3 mm thick carbide plates. The specimen and the
dies are inside a transparent and almost airtight box connected to an argon tap. The specimen is
heated by a three-spire inductor and the temperature is measured with an infra-red sensor.
Two typical procedure are presented: the first involves heating the specimen to the test tem-
perature and then test achievement; the second involves heating to a temperature higher than
that of the test and cooling to the test temperature.
Upsetting loads, cylinder current-height, and the ratio between equatorial diameter and contact
surface diameter are saved via a RS 232 line. Specific software, written in Basic, has been devel-
oped for the computation of the flow stress, taking into account friction and the contact conditions
between the specimen and dies, assessed from the barrelling of the cylinder.
Experiments have been performed on 1015 continuous-castingsteel with the heating-only pro-
cedure and on 1010 also continuous-cast steel with the heating-cooling procedure. The stress-
strain curves are given and the flow-stress equations are defined for typical problems; large effec-
tive strain from 0.2 to 0.8 in the first case, moderate effective strain from 0 to 0.15 in the second
case. The accuracy is found to be very good: the variation of measurements for the same test
conditions never exceed 4%. The testing procedure and the device are very convenient for daily
analysis: each test may be carried out in less than three minutes.

Notation

F upsetting load
Ho initial height of the cylinder
H current height of the cylinder
Ro initial radius of the cylinder
R current mean radius of the cylinder
m strain-rate sensitivity coefficient

0924-0136/91/$03.50 © 1991--Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

258

rn isotropic mean sub-layer friction factor

n strain-hardening coefficient
~L material Ludwik coefficient
e effective visco-plastic strain
effective visco-plastic strain rate
~(~ reference strain-rate
aL characteristic Ludwik stress
aN characteristic Norton H o f f stress
ao isotropic flow-stress

Introduction

Following the earlier work of the authors [1] and the cooperative pro-
gramme started by C I R P in 1981, the upsetting test of cylindrical specimens
has been used extensively to find materials strain-stress relationships when
non-linear behaviour and large strains are involved [ 2,3 ]. The mechanical mo-
delling of the test at room temperature, or in the isothermal temperature state,
is now well developed, within either upper-bound approaches such as in [4 ],
or finite-element approaches [5,6]. The barrelling has been predicted in most
approaches and simple relations are also available for the maximum barrel
diameter and for the diameter at the contact surface [ 7 ]. Experimental devices
for room temperature tests are now reliable and the results are generally ex-
cellent. For others temperatures, some new difficulties arise either from the
modelling point of view or from that of the test equipment. Usually, the tests
are carried out in an isothermal furnace, or by transferring the specimen from
the furnace to the upsetting device, or with conduction heating. In the latter
two cases, heat transfer is operating and so far, the temperature field has not
been found to be uniform in the specimen nor in the dies, and depends on the
heat-transfer coefficients.
In this paper, attention is devoted to a simple experimental procedure and
induction heating equipment available for any warm, hot and very hot
temperatures.

Experimental equipment

The specimens to be upset are cylinders having a height-to-diameter ratio

of 1.5. They are heated with a three-spire inductor made of a 4 mm external
diameter copper tube, as shown in Fig. 1. The copper tube is cooled by a flow
of 8 1/min of 12°C water. With a 8.6 k W generator, the frequency of which is
in the range 100 to 400 kHz, two typical sets of specimens dimensions are:
height 9 mm, diameter 6 mm, or height 15 mm, diameter 10 mm (Fig. 2 ). Other
specimens are also available, for instance, cylinders with collars at the extrem-
ities or with a collar at the equator. The 20 mm diameter 50 mm height dies,
 259

upper die

/carbide plate

specimen

-~N04-¢2 copper tube

.,o_. lower die

Scale 1

Fig. 1. T h e dies a n d the inductor designed for upsetting tests on 9 m m height, 6 m m diameter,
steel specimens.

C C zooming in C
(a) (b) Sc~c 1 (c) Scale20
Fig. 2. Typical cylinders for upsetting tests: (a) m i n i m u m dimensions; (b) m a x i m u m dimensions;
(c) zoom of the centre contact faces.

Fig. 3. Air-tight argon box for the upsetting tests.

260

manufactured in AF 998 alumina, are fixed in cooled supports. The specimen

and dies are enclosed in a airtight box in which is injected a 9 1/min flow of
argon gas (Fig. 3). The specimen temperature is measured by an infra-red
sensor on a 2 m m × 2 m m area centred on the envisaged final equator. Tem-
perature regulation is achieved with a special Proportional Integral Derivative
unit connected to the sensor. The ram velocity available with these particular
dies is up to 10 m m / s - 1, which enables the achieving of a final effective strain
rate of up to 5 s-1, depending on the dimensions of the specimen. Low tem-
perature gradients in the dies are obtained in this equipment by inserting a 3
m m thick carbide plate between the specimen and dies.
The upsetting load, the specimen height, the equatorial diameter, the con-
tact-face diameter, the time and the temperature are measured during the test.

Computing unit for the plot of s t r e s s - s t r a i n curves

The above data are saved on the disc of a microcomputer which is connected
to the sensors unit of the testing machine through a RS 232 serial connection.
The acquisition frequency is typically 10 measurements per second of the pairs
of values of upsetting load and specimen height. The data files ".dat" are in
the range 0.2 to 7 kBytes.
The measurements are then used in a new software "IDEN" (software length
264 KBytes - - Basic language) which computes the flow stress and the effec-
tive strain and gives the equivalent Norton Hoff equation

ao = a N e " e (I)

or the equivalent Ludwik equation

ao = a L ( l _ b OLaen ) E (2)

in which aN and aa are characteristic stresses, ~ is the effective strain, n is the

strain hardening coefficient, oLa is a material coefficient, m is the strain-rate
sensitivity coefficient, i is the visco-plastic strain rate and ~o is the reference
strain rate.
An estimate of the flow stress is obtained from the mean contact pressure,
using the slab method with an isotropic plastic flow stress function and the
associated Von Mises flow rule. The current value is given by
F
(3)

3jfi
in which F is the upsetting load, Ro is the initial cylinder radius, Ho is the initial
 261

equator diameter/ Upsetting test [

I contact surface diameter J of initial 1.5 height/diameter ratio mean sublayer
. ratio [ cylindrical specimen
I friction factor
1141 I I
[ effective visco-plastic strain

current height
initial height
ratio

Fig. 4. U p s e t t i n g tests for a 1.5 h e i g h t - t o - d i a m e t e r ratio: m e a n sub-layer friction factor f r o m pro-

file factor m e a s u r e m e n t .

cylinder height, H is the current cylinder height and ~ is the mean isotropic
friction factor at the interfaces between the ends of the cylinder and the dies.
An estimate of the effective strain rate is given by

(4)

The value of the friction factor is obtained from another test, usually a ring
test. However, this leads to problems at warm and hot temperatures: it is nec-
essary to change the heating inductor and the temperature control of the ring
specimen is not adequate. Thus, for a better analysis, the authors have pro-
posed the calculation, from upper-bound models, of the profile ratio, i.e. equa-
torial diameter/contact-surface diameter ratio, as a function of friction factors
involved in the surface constitutive equations [4]. For an isotropic plastic
equation, Fig. 4 gives the profile ratio for different values of the mean sub-layer
friction factor at the interface between the carbide plates and the specimen.
The flow stress is then calculated from the relationship

F
ao - R2Z (5)

in which R is the mean radius of the cylinder

262

R=RoT~
and Z >t I is a coefficient defined by

Z 8bR[[1 [H'~2}3/2 [H'~ '~

where b is given by

4rn H ( 2n~ H ~ - 1

Results

The above device and procedure are available for the determination of the
stress-strain curves of various steels, the test temperature either being reached
directly from room temperature (heating-only procedure) or from upper tem-
perature (heating-cooling procedure).
The first example is the upsetting test of a 1015 continuous-cast steel in the
range of l l 0 0 ° C to 1300°C, the test temperature being reached from room
temperature. The specimen is heated at a quasi constant rate of 30°C/s, the
test temperature is held for 20 s and then the test is carried out (Fig. 5). Figure
6 gives the measured values of the upsetting load versus height variation of 6
mm diameter and 9 mm initial height specimens for three typical tests - 1000,
1200 and 1300°C - and effective strain rates of 0.1 s -1 and 1.0 s -1. In Fig. 7,
the values of the flow stress computed with the use of eqn. (5) are presented.
Typical first forging passes of continuous-cast billets involve strain in the range
of 0.25 to 0.80 and the Norton H o f f model (1) is convenient. In this case, it is
noted that there are weak softening effects; on the other hand, the strain-rate
sensitivity coefficient is significant (Table 1).
The second example gives the results of an upsetting test carried out on
continuous-cast 1010 steel at 1000 ° C: in this example, the specimen is heated
at a quasi constant heating rate of 30 ° C / s to 1400 ° C, the temperature is hold
for 40 s, the test temperature is reached after a cooling time of 20 s, the test
temperature is hold for 20 s, then the test is carried out (Fig. 8). Figure 9 gives
the flow stress versus effective strain computed from eqn. (5).
Considering low visco-plastic strain in the range of 0-0.15, the Ludwik model,
eqn. (2), is convenient. Strain hardening and visco-plastic sensitivity are both
effective in this case (Table 2 ).
 263

Effective Tempe ratu re Test

visco-plastic control temperature
strain rate (oc)
(s ~ ) (oc)

1100
1.0 1200
"~. ~= 1300
E time (s)
accuracy ±0,03 40 80 accuracy +8

1100
0.1 ~I~ 1200
1300
E i I time (s)
accuracy -+0,03 40 80 accuracy ±8

Fig. 5. Upsetting tests of 1015 steel cylinders: experimental conditions.

"~~ '~ ~ I effective ~ 1.0 s"1

steel I visco-plastic strain rate ~" 0.1 s -1
10
- upsetting load F
(kN)
initial
dimensions
/
z-11100 °C
D O 6 mm // --
8

6 ~ // //~2oo oc

4 / 3oo o¢

height variation H o- H
1 2 3 4 5 6 (ram)
I I I I I I

Fig. 6. Upsetting tests of 1015 steel cylinders: upsetting load versus height variation.
264

1{)1,5 1 . 0 S "1
effective strain rate
steel ~0.1 s -1
100
flow stress
(N.mm-2)
1100 ° C - -

1200 °C

1100 °C

1200 °C_
1300 °C,

1300 °C.

effective visco-plastic strain

0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
I I I I I I

Fig. 7. U p s e t t i n g t e s t s o f 1015 steel cylinders: flow s t r e s s v e r s u s effective s t r a i n .

TABLE 1

Flow s t r e s s of c o n t i n u o u s - c a s t 1015 steel a

Temperature (°C) Flow s t r e s s ( N m m - 2 )

1100 ao = 82~-°°6~°14
1200 ao = 7 3 ~ - o.os~o.22
1300 ao = 41E- o.o4s~o.16

" H e a t i n g rate: 3 0 ° C s -1
Effective v i s c o - p l a s t i c s t r a i n - r a t e range: 0.1 s - 1 < ~ < 1.0 s - 1
Effective v i s c o - p l a s t i c s t r a i n range: 0.20 < ~ < 0.80

Effective Te mpe ratu re Test

visco-plastic control temperature
strain rate
(s1 ) (°C)

0.04

0.03 7i
~E t. ,!imp(s) I
1000

accuracy +0.004 40 80 120 accuracy _+8

Fig. 8. U p s e t t i n g t e s t s of 1010 steel cylinders: e x p e r i m e n t a l c o n d i t i o n s .

 265

~0~0 I effective strain rate

0.04 s" 1
steel ~" 0.03 s"1

flow stress
(N.mm2)

/••000
°C--

~ ' ~ " ~ ~ 1 0 0 0 °C....._._.._

20

10
effective visco-plastic strain
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
I I I I | I

Fig. 9. Upsetting tests of 1010 steel cylinders: flow stress versus effective strain.

TABLE 2

Flow stress of continuous-cast 1010 steep

Visco-plastic strain rate (s -~) Flow stress (N m m -2)

0.04 a o = 2 8 . 7 ( 1 + 4.1E°s2)~ °'17

0.03 a o = 27.7 (1 + 4.0e°'4s)~ °'17

aHeating rate: 30°C s -1

Cooling rate: 20°C s -1
Test temperature: 1000 ° C
Effective visco-plastic strain range: 0 < e < 0.15

Conclusions

Stress-strain relationships of steels at high temperatures have been ob-

tained very quickly from upsetting tests of cylinders having diameters in the
range from 6 mm to 10 mm. A simple three-spire inductor is used to heat the
specimen and two dies in alumina are required. The equipment is placed inside
a quasi air-tight box in which argon gas in injected throughout the test proce-
dures. Temperature is measured on the equatorial external surface with an
infra-red sensor which ensures inductor regulation via a PID unit.
266

Values measured are the upsetting load, the specimen current height, the
equatorial diameter, the contact-surface diameter: these are saved on a micro-
computer disk (floppy or otherwise) and specific software is used to compute
the relevant flow stress and effective visco-plastic strain.
Two typical procedures are presented: a heating-only procedure for contin-
uous-cast 1015 steel and a heating-cooling procedure for 1010 continuous-cast
steel. A Norton Hoff flow-stress equation is given for the 1015 steel and a
Ludwik equation for the 1010 steel. In both cases, the flow-stress function is
found in less than three minutes and the difference of the results from one
experiment to another is always less than 4%.

Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted for support to the 'Minist~re de l'Education Na-
tionale', 'Conseil r~gional Nord Pas de Calais', 'D~l~gation R~gionale du Mi-
nist~re de la Recherche et de la Technologie' and CNRS.

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