Isothermal forging rare element containing magnesium alloy bracket with thin web and high rib

Isothermal forging schemes and die devices were designed to precisely form Mg-9Gd-3Y-0.6Zn-0.5Zr alloy brackets with thin web and high rib. The isothermal process of the thin-web high-rib bracket was studied via FE simulation and forging experiments. The influence of the die structure and the forming scheme on the metal flow and the filling was analyzed, and the mechanism of the defect formation was revealed. Finally, the bracket forging was well formed through optimizing the forging process. The results show that complex-shaped forgings with thin web and high asymmetric arc rib were precisely forged in one pass by split die scheme and isothermal forging process, and the microstructures were uniformly refined. The metal filling resistance in the die cavity of the arc rib of the bracket was effectively controlled by optimizing corner radius and adding active damping block, thus avoiding the defects of arc rib notch and lateral ear underfilling.