AE 510: Aerospace Materials and Processes

Research Project:
Cold, Warm and Hot Working


by: Daniel Nunez



The University of Kansas
Aerospace Engineering Department

October 21st, 2003




1. Introduction
The Fall 2003 Aerospace Materials and Processes (AE 510) class has been assigned an
individual Research Project. The topic was chosen and presented on September 23 on
this year.

This research project consists of an investigation of Cold, Warm and Hot
working processes. The following topics were discussed:

Characteristics and description of cold, hot and warm working

Homologous temperature

The effect the type of working (cold, hot, warm) has on the material

Main Methods used and their characteristics.

The effect the type of method has on the processed products.

2. Cold, Hot and Warm Working

Cold working refers to plastic deformation that occurs usually, but not necessarily, at
room temperature.

Hot working refers to plastic deformation carried out above the recrystallization
temperature.

Warm working: as the name implies, is carried out at intermediate temperatures. It is a
compromise between cold and hot working.

The temperature ranges for these 3 categories of plastic deformation are given in the
next table in term of a ratio, where T is the working temperature and Tm is the melting
point of the metal, both on the absolute scale. Although it is a dimensionless quantity, this
ratio is known as the homologous temperature.

Table 2.1 Homologous Temperature Range for Various Processes.
m
T T /
Process

Cold working

<0.3

Warm working

0.3 to 0.5

Hot working

>0.6


Metals can be plastically deformed (worked) at room, warm, or high temperatures.

These 3 types of working are described in detail in the following sections
2.1 Cold Working (Work Hardening)
Definition:

As stated before, cold working refers to plastic deformation that occurs usually, but
not necessarily, at room temperature.
For example: Deforming lead at room temperature is a hot working process because
the recrystallization temperature of lead is about room temperature.
Cold and hot are relative terms.
Plastic deformation is a deformation in which the material does not return to its
original shape; this is the opposite of an elastic deformation.

Effects of Cold Working:

The behavior and workability of the metals depend largely on whether deformation
takes place below or above the recrystallization temperature.

Deformation using cold working results in:

Higher stiffness, and strength, but
Reduced malleability and ductility of the metal.
Anisotropy


2.2 Hot Working
Definition

Hot working is the deformation that is carried out above the recrystallization temperature.
In these circumstances, annealing takes place while the metal is worked rather than being a
separate process. The metal can therefore be worked without it becoming work hardened. Hot
working is usually carried out with the metal at a temperature of about 0.6 of its melting point.

Effects of hot working

At high temperature, scaling and oxidation exist. Scaling and oxidation produce
undesirable surface finish. Most ferrous metals needs to be cold worked after hot working in order
to improve the surface finish.
The amount of force needed to perform hot working is less than that for cold work.
The mechanical properties of the material remain unchanged during hot working.
The metal usually experiences a decrease in yield strength when hot worked. Therefore, it
is possible to hot work the metal without causing any fracture.

Quenching is the sudden immersion of a heated metal into cold water or oil. It is used to
make the metal very hard. To reverse the effects of quenching, tempering is used (reheated of the
metal for a period of time)
To reverse the process of quenching, tempering is used, which is the reheat of the metal.



2.3 Warm Working
Definition:

As mentioned before, warm working: as the name implies, is carried out at intermediate
temperatures. It is a compromise between cold and hot working.
The temperature ranges for cold, warm and hot process are given in table 2.1.
The range for warm working is between 0.3 and 0.5

Effects of Warm Working

The range for warm working is between 0.3 and 0.5 .
The effects of this type of working depend on how close is the warm process to be a cold or
hot process. This means that the effects and characteristics get similar to the ones in a cold
process when the warm process gets closer to 0.3 . This also applies for hot processes. The effects
and characteristics get similar to the ones in a hot process when the warm process gets closer to
0.5 .
The type of process chosen depends on the physical and mechanical properties needed for
the product, meaning the product itself and its uses.
m
T T /
2.4 Methods used for Cold, Hot working
2.4.1. Rolling
The initial breaking down of an ingot or of a continuously cast slab is done by hot rolling. A
cast structure includes coarse and non-uniform grains. This structure is usually brittle and
may contain porosities. Hot rolling converts the cast structure to a wrought structure. This
structure has finer grains and enhanced ductility, both resulting from the breaking up of
brittle grain boundaries and the closing up of internal defects, especially porosity.

The product of the first hot rolling operation is called bloom or slab. A bloom usually
has a square cross-section, at least 150 mm (6in) on the side; a slab is usually rectangular in
cross section. Blooms are processed further, by shape rolling, into structural shapes, such as
I-beams and railroad rails. Slabs are rolled into planes and sheet.

Billets are usually square, with a cross-sectional area smaller than blooms; they are
later rolled into various shapes, such as round rods and bars, by the use of shaped rolls. Hot-
rolled round rods are used as the starting material for rod and wire drawing. They are called
wire rods.
2.4.2. Forging
Forging is a process in which the workpiece is shaped by compressive forces applied
through various dies and tools. It is one of the oldest metalworking operations. Most forgings
require a set of dies and a press or a forging hammer.

Unlike rolling operations, which generally produce continuous plates, sheets, strip, or
various structural cross-sections, forging operations produce discrete parts.

Typical forged products are bolts and rivets, connecting rods, shafts for turbines, gears, hand
tools, and structural components for machinery, aircraft, railroads and a variety of other
transportation equipment.

Open-die forging Closed-die forging Flashless forging






Figure 2.4.1: Workpiece deformed with open-die, closed-die and flashless forging (Ref 1)
2.4.3 Extrusion
In the extrusion process, a billet (generally round) is forced through a die in a manner
similar to squeezing toothpaste from a tube. Almost any solid or hollow cross-section may be
produced by extrusion, which can create essentially semi-finished parts. Because the die
geometry remains the same throughout the operation, extruded products have a constant cross-
section. This can be done with cold, warm or hot working.

Typical products made by extrusion are railings for sliding doors, tubing having carious
cross-sections, structural and architectural shapes, and door and windows frames.

Figure 2.4.2: Extrusion Process (Ref 1)
2.4.4. Drawing
Drawing is an operation in which the cross-section of solid rod, wire or tubing is
reduced or changed in shape by pulling it through a die. Drawn rods are used for shafts,
spindles, and small pistons and as the raw material for fasteners such as rivets, bolts,
screws.

Drawing also improves strength and hardness when these properties are to be
developed by cold work and not by subsequent heat treatment.
Figure 2.4.3: Drawing Process (Ref 1)
2.4.5. Sheet Forming
Examples of products made by sheet-metal forming are desks, file cabinets, appliances, car
bodies, aircraft fuselages, beverage cans etc.

For aerospace applications, the common sheet materials are aluminum and titanium, and they are
usually cold worked, but sheet forming in general can be done by hot or cold working.

There are many processes used for sheet-metal forming. The main ones are:

Roll Forming: This process is used for forming continuous lengths of sheet metal and
for large production runs. The metal strip is bent in stages by passing it through a series of rolls.
The parts are then usually sheared and stacked continuously.

Stretch Forming: the sheet is clamped along its edges and then stretched over a die or form
block, which moves upward, downward, or sideways, depending on the particular machine.
Stretch forming is used primarily to make aircraft wing skin panels, automobile door panels, and
window frames.

Drawing: A round sheet-metal blank is placed over a circular die opening and is held in place
with a blank holder. The punch travels downward and forces the blank into the die cavity,
forming a cup


3. Conclusions
1. The terms cold, warm and hot working are relative. The difference between them
is the temperature at which the process is carried out.

2. There is not a best process. It all depends on what will be the use of the product,
or what is the product going to be. The geometry of the product has a great influence on
this decision.


4. References

1. Serope Kalpakjiam, Steven R. Schmid. Manufacturing Engineering and Technology.
Prentice Hall, 4
th
Edition.

2. http://www.schoolscience.co.uk/content/5/chemistry/steel/steelch2pg2.html

3.J.N. Harris. Mechanical Working of Metals. Pergamon Press Volume 36

4.American Society for Metals. Source Nook on Cold Forming.

5. http://www.eng.ku.ac.th/~mat/

6. http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/9911/Hosford-9911.html