Article: Extreme nitriding limits in aluminium extrusion Journal: International Journal of Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Optimisation (IJMMNO) 2011 Vol.2 No.3 pp.342 - 355 Abstract: Extrusion of aluminium is an efficient manufacturing process which allows long continuous production. The heated billet (aluminium material) is squeezed through the opening of a metal die in order to shape the desired aluminium profile. A long continuous production increases aging of the die and hampers its capability to yield homogeneously shaped profiles. Hence the dies are usually removed from production lines before their breaking point and only go back into production after receiving a layer coat for protection of the metal. This paper consists of a preliminary analysis of the extrusion amounts between consecutive maintenance procedures of the dies. A maintenance procedure in its whole encompasses an immersion bath of the die in caustic soda, a polishing operation and possibly a subsequent coat layering process in a nitriding chamber. The main goal here is to find the optimal life cycle for a die, in the sense that we are looking for a risk level (an extrusion amount) above which die-damage occurs with a certain high probability. We shall rely on extreme value statistics to answer the question of how long can we go on at each continuous operation of aluminium extrusion. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Extreme nitriding limits in aluminium extrusion

Authors: Claudia Neves, M. Ivette Gomes, Isabel Fraga Alves

Addresses: Department of Mathematics, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal. ' CEAUL, DEIO Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Edificio C6, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal. ' CEAUL, DEIO Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Edificio C6, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal

Abstract: Extrusion of aluminium is an efficient manufacturing process which allows long continuous production. The heated billet (aluminium material) is squeezed through the opening of a metal die in order to shape the desired aluminium profile. A long continuous production increases aging of the die and hampers its capability to yield homogeneously shaped profiles. Hence the dies are usually removed from production lines before their breaking point and only go back into production after receiving a layer coat for protection of the metal. This paper consists of a preliminary analysis of the extrusion amounts between consecutive maintenance procedures of the dies. A maintenance procedure in its whole encompasses an immersion bath of the die in caustic soda, a polishing operation and possibly a subsequent coat layering process in a nitriding chamber. The main goal here is to find the optimal life cycle for a die, in the sense that we are looking for a risk level (an extrusion amount) above which die-damage occurs with a certain high probability. We shall rely on extreme value statistics to answer the question of how long can we go on at each continuous operation of aluminium extrusion.

Keywords: extreme value theory; EVT; random censoring; aluminium extrusion; nitriding limits; maintenance; dies; die life cycle; die damage.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMMNO.2011.040796

International Journal of Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Optimisation, 2011 Vol.2 No.3, pp.342 - 355

Published online: 26 Mar 2015 *

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Title: Extreme nitriding limits in aluminium extrusion

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