Review Article

Prediction of microstructural evolution during hot forging

Institute of Forming Technology and Equipment, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai 200030, PR China

^* e-mail: feechn@gmail.com

Received: 31 March 2014
Accepted: 10 June 2014

Abstract

Microstructural evolution, which is governed by temperature, strain and strain rate during hot forging, is a key factor influencing mechanical properties. Understanding the microstructural evolution of metals and alloys in hot forging has a great importance for the designers of metal forming processes. The principal objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the models for the prediction of microstructural evolution for metals and alloys during the hot forging process. In this review paper, the models are divided into four categories, including the phenomenological, physically-based, mesoscale and artificial-neural-network models, to introduce their developments, prediction capabilities and application scopes. Additionally, some limitations and objective suggestions for the further development of the modelling of microstructural evolution during hot forging are proposed.