INVESTIGATION AND PREDICTION OF CHARGE WELDS IN ALUMINUM EXTRUDED PROFILES

Aluminum extruded profiles are today extensively used in several type of applications like buildings and construction, engineering, transport, up to airplane primary structures. The proprieties and quality of the profiles are strictly related to their final application: if for aesthetical applications (i.e. windows frames or interior design structures) the surface aspect is of primary importance, in more severe loaded conditions (like automotive or aerospace) the mechanical proprieties of the profiles remains of critical importance. Aim of the present study was to investigate the interaction between the different welding phenomena inside an industrial multi-profile die, in order to determine the exact position and the minimal profile length to be discarded. Finite element simulations of the process were then carried out by means of the commercial code Altair® HyperXtrude® to evaluate the numerical code capabilities for a real industrial application. Numerical predictions were then compared to experimental data with a particular focus on the computation of charge weld evolution.