An innovative spinning-rolling process and its intelligent FE modelling for big-tapered profiled ring disk

The big-tapered profiled ring disk is mainly employed by rocket rear joint, which has a typical geometric feature of big taper and profiled section shape. Aiming at challenges for its manufacturing, an innovative spinning-rolling process based on typical ring rolling mill is proposed in this work. The principle of this new process is expounded, which combines the characteristics of spinning and profiled ring rolling. In view of difficulties of controlling the motions of the guide rolls, an intelligent control method, which combines the flexible force control with instantaneous position control of the guide rolls, is proposed considering the transformation of deformation patterns from spinning bending to profiled ring rolling of the process. Based on this, an intelligent 3D FE model for the proposed spinning-rolling process, which can realize self-adaptive control of the guide rolls, is developed. The actual spinning-rolling experiment has been performed under the same deformation conditions as the FE simulations. The results fully demonstrate that the newly proposed spinning-rolling process is feasible and the developed FE model is reliable. Then the developed FE model is further applied to explain the deformation principle and characteristics, predict the force and power parameters and find the problem on process window in the spinning-rolling process. And lastly the future work mainly on process window and deformation rules has been pointed out. • A newly proposed spinning-rolling process combining spinning bending and profiled ring rolling • Control method and model of guide rolls with flexible force and instantaneous position control • An intelligent FE model of spinning-rolling process which realizes adaptive control for guide rolls • An actually performed experiment on spinning-rolling process which proves the process feasibility and FE model reliability • The roles of the developed FE model in process innovation, equipment upgrades and process window establishment