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1. Investigating a novel approach to reduce transverse weld scrap in aluminum extrusion using profiled dummy blocks and billets

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s12289-025-01926-3  

   Farooq, Muhammad_Umar; Oberhausen, Gregory; Cooper, Daniel_R (August 2025, International Journal of Material Forming)

   Abstract The supply chains of extruded aluminum are materially inefficient, with up to two-fifths of the billet being scrapped before the profile is incorporated into a final product. A significant source of process scrap arises from removing the tongue-shaped transverse weld—also known as the front-end defect or charge weld—that is formed between the consecutive billets being extruded, primarily because of concerns over weld integrity. Optimizing process settings and die geometry can reduce the transverse weld length—and thus the amount of scrapped material—but only by approximately 15%. We investigate a novel methodology for significant scrap reduction, where an initially profiled interface—rather than a flat one—between consecutively extruded billets compensates for the differential velocities of material across the billet cross-section as it moves through the die ports, resulting in shorter welds. This profiled interface is created using profiled billets that fit into a dummy block shaped with the inverse of the billet profile. We present a design process to define the shape of the profiled dummy block and billet. For a given part, we first determine the ideal shape by obtaining the velocity field from finite element simulations of the conventional extrusion process, assuming perfectly rigid tooling and no constraints on the creation of profiled tooling or billets. Next, we rationalize this shape by applying stress and deflection limits to the dummy block, ensuring it avoids plastic deformation and interference with the container wall. Additionally, we consider ductile damage limits for the billet to prevent cracking during a pre-extrusion hot forging stage, which is one method of generating profiled billets. The design process is applied to four profiles of increasing complexity: solid round and rectangular bars, a square-tube hollow, and a complex multi-hollow profile. Extrusion and forging trials using custom-built tooling are conducted to validate the design process. The experimental case studies demonstrate that profiled dummy blocks and billets can achieve weld length reductions of over 50% and that the same tooling can offer scrap savings across a range of similar extruded shapes. In the tests, a profiled dummy block with an air escape vent showed zero-to-negligible plastic deformation and neither air entrapment nor clogging of the vent during extrusion, while a conventional billet was hot-forged to produce profiled ends without cracking or deforming the forging tools. Overall, this study highlights that profiled billet extrusion is a promising technology for significantly reducing scrap from transverse weld removal in aluminum extrusions. 

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2. Modeling the strength of aluminum extrusion transverse welds using the film theory of solid-state welding

   Oberhausen, Gregory; Cooper, Daniel (December 2023, Journal of materials processing technology)

   Reducing production scrap is vital for decarbonizing the aluminum industry. In extrusion, the greatest source of scrap stems from removing profile sections containing transverse (charge) welds that are deemed too weak for their intended purpose. However, until now, there has been no predictive transverse weld strength model. This article establishes a transverse weld strength model as a function of billet properties and extrusion parameters. It extends the film theory of solid-state welding by enhancing Cooper and Allwood’s plane strain model to consider non-plane strain deformations at the billet-billet interface. These enhancements are informed by analyzing oxide fragmentation patterns through shear lag modeling and microscopy of profiles extruded from anodized billets. Model predictions are assessed through shear tests on welds from single and two-piece billets, extruded into rod, bar, and multi-hollow profiles. The experiments reveal that negative surface expansions at the weld nose cause interface buckling and weaker welds, but both surface expansions and weld strengths increase with distance from the nose. In non-axisymmetric profiles, deformation conditions and strengths vary across, as well as along, the weld. Two-piece billet welds are longer but reach bulk strength long before weld termination. The model predicts these trends and shows that die pressures are sufficient for micro-extrusion of any exposed substrate through interface oxide cracks. This underscores the significance of interface strains in exposing substrate and determining the weld strength. The model can help increase process yields by determining minimum lengths of weak profile to scrap and aiding process optimization for increased weld strength. 

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3. A study on internal quenching of hollow extrusions to reduce distortion and increase the energy to failure of aluminum profiles

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s12289-025-01881-z  

   Alafaghani, Ala’aldin; Puleo, Riccardo; Adams, Lillian; Dong, Pingsha; Cooper, Daniel (March 2025, International Journal of Material Forming)

   Lightweight automotive extrusions are increasingly complex, thin-walled, multi-hollow profiles made from quench-sensitive alloys like AA6082. These profiles require rapid (water) quenching as they leave the press in preparation for age-hardening. Conventional rapid quenching, which only directly cools the profile’s extremity, can distort the part. Lower quenching rates reduce distortion but may compromise the mechanical properties. We test three hypotheses: (1) That the different cooling rates across the section during quenching induce varying mechanical properties as well as distortion; (2) That this temperature differential can be minimized by combining novel internal profile quenching with conventional quenching; and (3) That internal quenching can be achieved using insulated channels in the extrusion die to convey the quenchant to the profile’s interior. The first hypothesis is tested experimentally by taking tensile specimens from a AA6082 multi-hollow profile. The second is examined experimentally using a lab-built quench box and theoretically using thermo-mechanical finite element simulations. The third hypothesis is tested by conducting a hollow profile extrusion trial using a specially designed porthole die. The testing shows that conventional quenching results in reduced mechanical properties in the profile’s internal walls but that combined external/internal quenching alleviates this problem and reduces distortion. The extrusion trial on internal quenching demonstrates die survivability, an acceptable die temperature drop during quenchant flow, and effective quenchant disposal via evaporation and capture of liquid at the end of the profile. This study suggests that internal quenching is a promising technology option for reducing scrap and improving mechanical properties of hard-to-quench aluminum profiles. 

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4. Geospatial Management and Analysis of Microstructural Data from San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) Core Samples

   https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi10050332  

   Holmes, Elliott M.; Gaughan, Andrea E.; Biddle, Donald J.; Stevens, Forrest R.; Hadizadeh, Jafar (May 2021, ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information)

   null (Ed.)

   Core samples obtained from scientific drilling could provide large volumes of direct microstructural and compositional data, but generating results via the traditional treatment of such data is often time-consuming and inefficient. Unifying microstructural data within a spatially referenced Geographic Information System (GIS) environment provides an opportunity to readily locate, visualize, correlate, and apply remote sensing techniques to the data. Using 26 core billet samples from the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD), this study developed GIS-based procedures for: 1. Spatially referenced visualization and storage of various microstructural data from core billets; 2. 3D modeling of billets and thin section positions within each billet, which serve as a digital record after irreversible fragmentation of the physical billets; and 3. Vector feature creation and unsupervised classification of a multi-generation calcite vein network from cathodluminescence (CL) imagery. Building on existing work which is predominantly limited to the 2D space of single thin sections, our results indicate that a GIS can facilitate spatial treatment of data even at centimeter to nanometer scales, but also revealed challenges involving intensive 3D representations and complex matrix transformations required to create geographically translated forms of the within-billet coordinate systems, which are suggested for consideration in future studies. 

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5. Minimizing Quench Distortion and Improving the Toughness of Complex Hollow Extrusions Using Internal Cooling

   https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41023-9_54  

   Alafaghani, A.; Adams, L.; Dong, P.; Cooper, D.R. (January 2023, Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on the Technology of Plasticity - Current Trends in the Technology of Plasticity)

   Lightweight automotive extrusions are increasingly complex, thin-walled, multi-hollow profiles made from high-strength, quench-sensitive aluminum alloys such as AA6082. These alloys require rapid quenching as the profile leaves the press to prevent the precipitation of undesired phases, to create a supersaturated solid solution, and to prepare them for subsequent age-hardening treatments; e.g., for the T6 temper. However, rapid quenching can cause profile distortion, which leads to high scrap reject rates, increasing costs, environmental impacts, and production lead time. This study tests two hypotheses: (1) That the different cooling rates set-up across the profile section during quenching induces not only distortion but also varying mechanical properties across the section; and (2) That this temperature differential can be minimized by combining (conventional) external quenching with internal quenching supplied by through-die cooling channels. The first hypothesis is tested experimentally by taking tensile specimens from different locations of an AA6082 multi-hollow profile, showing a significant decrease in the ductility and ultimate tensile strength of samples extracted from internal webs. The second hypothesis is tested by performing thermo-mechanical finite element simulations that compare the thermal history, stresses, and strains of simultaneous internal and external quenching in contrast with conventional quenching (external only). The combined quenching approach results in a significant reduction in the residual stress and plastic deformation. This implies lower scrap reject rates, improved internal wall mechanical properties (giving scope for further light-weighting), and a wider profile design space by enabling the extrusion of more challenging profile shapes. 

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