A study of interfacial heat transfer and its effect on quenching when hot stamping AA7075

The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of contact pressure and lubrication on the interfacial heat transfer coefficient (IHTC) between AA7075 sheet and H13 tool steel and the in-die quenching performance in hot stamping. Firstly, a series of designed in-die quenching experiments were performed using different contact pressures, 0.05-30 MPa and lubrication conditions to determine the IHTC values using an efficient methodology. Secondly, temperature evolution of the tools and blank during the in-die quenching was investigated. Mechanical properties of material in-die quenched under different process conditions, were measured to determine their relation to quench conditions. The results have shown that IHTC values increased with increasing contact pressure and use of lubricant. A strength level of T6 condition could be obtained using a contact pressure greater than 5 MPa in the lubricated condition.