Advanced simulation of die wear caused by wire vibrations during wire-drawing process

An advanced simulation that considers the effect of wire vibrations was proposed for predicting accurately wear profiles of a die used in a wire-drawing process. The effect of wire vibrations, the changes in the wear profiles, and the generation of ringing during die approach were investigated by this simulation. Wire vibrations occurring between the die and the drum are governed by a partial differential equation called the wave equation, which is a function of the wire length, tension, density, and initial wire velocity. The wire-drawing process was simulated by the commercial code Abaqus FEA, and the die wear profiles were predicted by Archard's wear model. The predicted profiles were compared with measured profiles of a worn drawing die after producing 5 t of AISI 1010 wire; the die was made of tungsten carbide with a Brinell hardness of HB 682. The profiles predicted by considering the effect of wire vibrations are in good agreement with the experimental data, indicating that the advanced simulation can be used to accurately predict the die wear profiles when ringing is observed during die approach.