During this thesis work a coupled thermo-mechanical finite element model (FEM) was builtto simulate hot rolling in the blooming mill at Sandvik Materials Technology (SMT) inSandviken. The blooming mill is the first in a long line of processes that continuously or ingotcast ingots are subjected to before becoming finished products. The aim of this thesis work was twofold. The first was to create a parameterized finiteelement (FE) model of the blooming mill. The commercial FE software package MSCMarc/Mentat was used to create this model and the programing language Python was used toparameterize it. Second, two different pass schedules (A and B) were studied and comparedusing the model. The two pass series were evaluated with focus on their ability to healcentreline porosity, i.e. to close voids in the centre of the ingot. This evaluation was made by studying the hydrostatic stress (σm), the von Mises stress (σeq)and the plastic strain (εp) in the centre of the ingot. From these parameters the stress triaxiality(Tx) and the hydrostatic integration parameter (Gm) were calculated for each pass in bothseries using two different transportation times (30 and 150 s) from the furnace. The relationbetween Gm and an analytical parameter (Δ) was also studied. This parameter is the ratiobetween the mean height of the ingot and the contact length between the rolls and the ingot,which is useful as a rule of thumb to determine the homogeneity or penetration of strain for aspecific pass. The pass series designed with fewer passes (B), many with greater reduction, was shown toachieve better void closure theoretically. It was also shown that a temperature gradient, whichis the result of a longer holding time between the furnace and the blooming mill leads toimproved void closure.

La présence de porosités dans les lingots métalliques représente un problème majeur dans l’industrie des matériaux. En effet, ces porosités altèrent significativement les caractéristiques mécaniques du matériau (ductilité notamment), et sont des sources d’apparition de défauts en mise en forme ou en tenue en service. Pour éliminer ces porosités, les industriels utilisent souvent des procédés de mise forme à chaud tels que le forgeage ou le laminage, mais il est souvent difficile de définir le taux de déformation à appliquer pour refermer entièrement ces porosités. La modélisation numérique s’avère donc être un outil particulièrement intéressant afin d’étudier l’impact des paramètres procédé sur le taux de refermeture de porosités. Dans ce travail, nous avons développé une méthodologie de calibration basée sur des algorithmes d’optimisation et une base de données de 800 simulations à champ complet sur VER, où les paramètres influents sur la refermeture des porosités sont variés (mécaniques et géométriques). Le premier modèle proposé est un modèle scalaire qui s’affranchit de l’hypothèse de chargement axisymétrique, largement utilisée dans la littérature. Le paramètre de Lode a permis avec l’utilisation de la triaxialité des contraintes de définir l’état de contraintes d’une manière unique. Les comparaisons de ce nouveau modèle à trois autres modèles de refermeture de la littérature montrent le gain de précision de ce nouveau modèle scalaire de refermeture. Le deuxième modèle est un modèle tensoriel adapté aux procédés multipasses grâce à l’analyse de la matrice d’inertie de la porosité. Cette matrice sert pour calculer le volume, la forme et l’orientation de la porosité. Ce modèle a été calibré en utilisant une approche basée sur les réseaux de neurones artificiels. La comparaison avec le modèle scalaire et la modélisation en champ complet a montré un gain en précision jusqu’à 35%. Il s’agit là par ailleurs du premier modèle tensoriel proposé dans la littérature. / The presence of voids in ingots is a major issue in the casting industry. These voids decrease materials properties (in particular ductility) and may induce premature failure during metal forming or service life. Hot metal forming processes are therefore used to close these voids and obtain a sound product. However, the amount of deformation required to close these voids is difficult to estimate.Numerical modeling is an interesting tool to study the influence of process parameters on void closure rate. In this work, an optimization-based strategy has been developed to identify the parameters of a mean-field model based on a database of 800 full-field REV simulations with various loading conditions and voids geometry and orientations. The first void closure model is a scalar model that gets rid of the axisymmetric loading hypothesis considered in most models in the literature. The Lode angle, coupled with the stress triaxiality ratio enables to identify the stress state in a unique way. Comparisons of this new model with three other models fromthe literature show the accuracy increase for general loading conditions. In order to address multistages processes, a second model is defined in a tensor version. The ellipsoid void inertia matrix is used to define void’s morphology, orientation and volume. The tensor model predicts the evolution of the inertia terms and its calibration is based on the full-field REV database and on a new Artificial Neural Networks approach. Comparisons were carried out between this tensor model, the scalar model and full-field simulations for multi-stages configurations. These comparisons showed up to 35% accuracy improvement with the tensor model. It is worth mentioning that this is the first attempt to define a void closure tensor model in the literature.

Lors de l'élaboration de pièces métalliques de grandes dimensions, la présence interne de pores est habituellement observée. Ces défauts internes sont généralement refermés lors des premières passes de transformation à chaud. Il y a cependant à l‘heure actuelle un manque de connaissance sur les mécanismes mis en jeu lors de cette refermeture, et par conséquent aucune prédiction précise possible et un taux de rebut assez important. Le travail présenté dans ce manuscrit vise à mieux comprendre les mécanismes de refermeture en identifiant les paramètres procédés, matériaux et morphologiques clés lors de la refermeture. Ce travail s'est déroulé dans le cadre d'un consortium industriel impliquant six partenaires. La problématique industrielle est donc particulièrement variée en termes de matériaux, de procédés et d'états initiaux de pores.Une étude approfondie des modèles existants dans la littérature est d'abord présentée. Les deux familles d'approches utilisées sont discutées : l'approche explicite en champ complet, et l'approche micro-analytique. Il est montré que ces deux approches ne sont pas suffisantes pour établir un modèle de prédiction dont la précision réponde aux enjeux industriels.Une nouvelle approche est donc proposée dans cette thèse à l'échelle mésoscopique. Les mécanismes de refermeture sont étudiés à l'échelle d'un volume élémentaire représentatif (VER), permettant une description 3D particulièrement précise des mécanismes locaux, tout en appliquant des conditions aux limites représentatives des états mécaniques mis en jeu à l'échelle macroscopique.Les mécanismes locaux ont été étudiés au moyen d'une vaste campagne de simulations éléments-finis 3D à l'échelle d'un VER. Les paramètres étudiés sont : les paramètres matériaux, la morphologie du pore, et le chargement thermomécanique subit durant la déformation. L'étude a montré que la morphologie et l'état de contraintes sont de premier ordre sur le comportement en refermeture, et que les paramètres matériaux sont de second ordre. Les influences des paramètres de premier ordre ont ensuite été quantifiées afin de proposer un modèle de prédiction de refermeture robuste. La morphologie du pore est exprimée par le biais de ses dimensions équivalentes (rapports d'élongations tridimensionnels) et de son orientation par rapport à la direction principale de déformation. L'état de contraintes est exprimé par le taux de triaxialité des contraintes.Le modèle a finalement été implémenté dans un code éléments finis de mise en forme et une validation sur cas industriels est présentée afin d'évaluer les bénéfices obtenus par ce nouveau modèle par rapport aux modèles de la littérature. Une validation expérimentale a également été menée par le biais d'essais d'écrasements d'échantillons poreux dont l'état de porosité a été mesuré par micro-tomographie aux rayons X avant et après les essais. / During production of large metal workpieces, an internal presence of voids is usually observed. Such internal defaults are generally closed up during the first passes of hot forming processes. Yet, there is at present a lack of knowledge regarding void closure mechanisms and there is no reliable model that can accurately predict void closure. The amount of non-deliverable products is consequently relatively high. The present work aims to better understand void closure mechanisms with respect to the involved materials, processes and voids' morphological parameters. This work was supported by an industrial consortium involving six partners. The industrial issues were thus particularly diversified in terms of materials, processes and initial void states.An extensive study regarding existing models in the literature is first presented. Two main approaches are discussed: the explicit full-field approach and the micro-analytical approach. It is shown that none of both approaches is sufficient to precisely predict void closure according to the industrial issues.A new approach is thus proposed at the mesoscale. Void closure mechanisms are studied using a representative volume element (RVE). Using this approach an accurate tridimensional description of the void state can be obtained at the RVE scale. Boundary conditions can also be imposed in order to accurately represent thermomechanical conditions from the macro-scale.Local mechanisms of void closure are studied using a large campaign of 3D finite element simulations at the RVE-scale. The studied parameters are: the materials parameters, the void's morphology and the thermomechanical loading that a void might undergo during hot forming processes. The study shows that both the void's morphology and the stress state exhibit a first-order influence on void closure. Materials parameters exhibit a second-order influence on void closure. A new reliable prediction model is thus proposed with respect to the first-order parameters. The void's morphology is quantitatively studied in terms of equivalent dimensions (tridimensional aspect ratios), and orientation (with respect to principal deformation direction). The stress state is expressed using the stress triaxiality ratio.The proposed model was finally implemented in a material forming finite element software. Validation cases are presented using industrial processes in order to highlight the benefits and limitations of this new model with respect to the existing models from the literature. An experimental validation was also performed using compression tests of porous samples. The samples were examined using X-ray micro-tomography before and after compression.

Un nouveau concept d'échangeur de chaleur compacte est développé afin d’améliorer les performances du système de conversion d'énergie pour le réacteur ASTRID. La fabrication de géométries complexes (canaux rectangulaires millimétriques) est possible grâce au procédé de soudage diffusion : des tôles rainurées en acier inoxydable 316L sont empilées en conteneur et soudées lors d'un cycle de Compaction Isostatique à Chaud (CIC). La problématique est alors d'obtenir des interfaces résistantes tout en limitant la déformation des canaux nuisible à l’efficacité de l’échangeur. Pour arriver au meilleur compromis, les travaux de cette thèse vont aider à l’optimisation des paramètres pression/temps/température du cycle de CIC.Le premier axe de travail porte sur la simulation numérique de la déformation d’un tel échangeur lors de la CIC. L’influence des paramètres numériques (taille des éléments, critère de convergence) a été étudiée afin d’optimiser la précision et la vitesse des calculs. Les simulations ont mis en évidence l’importance des défauts d’empilements de la structure (glissements et ondulations des tôles) dans l’augmentation de la déformée de l’échangeur. Puis une caractérisation mécanique poussée des tôles laminées a mené à l’identification d’une loi de comportement entre 20°C à 1040°C.Le second axe porte sur la modélisation de l'évolution des interfaces lors du soudage diffusion et la prédiction de la tenue mécanique de ces dernières, l'ensemble pouvant mener à la définition d'un critère de validité des interfaces.Une étude microstructurale et mécaniques des interfaces a permis d’établir une corrélation entre la tenue mécanique d’un joint soudé-diffusé et son taux de surface soudée. En effet, la disparition de la porosité résiduelle est le critère principal pour obtenir de bonnes propriétés mécaniques à l’interface. Toutefois, le franchissement de l’interface par les joints de grains, est nécessaire pour retrouver les propriétés des tôles laminées. Un modèle analytique de fermeture des porosités (Hill et Wallach) est utilisé pour calculer le taux de surface soudée d’une interface en fonction des paramètres du cycle de CIC en modélisant la contribution des mécanismes (visco)plastique et diffusifs (en surface et au joint). Associé à la corrélation entre tenue mécanique et taux de surface soudée, il permet de proposer un outil prédictif pour la tenue mécaniques des interfaces soudé-diffusées. / A new concept of compact plate heat exchanger is developed for the energy conversion system performances of the ASTRID reactor. Manufacturing the complex geometry is possible by a diffusion-welding process: engraved 316L stainless steel plates are stacked and bonded during a Hot Isostatic Pressing cycle (HIP). The problematic is to get strong interfaces without deforming the channels which is harmful for the exchanger efficiency. To reach a good compromise, this thesis work will help to optimize the HIP parameters (pressure/temperature/ time).The first line of work is about the simulation of the heat exchanger deformation along manufacturing process. The influence of numerical parameters (elements size, convergence criterion) was studied to optimize the accuracy and the calculation time. Simulations have shown the importance of structure stack faults (sliding and plate ripples) in the increase of exchanger deformation. Then, a mechanical characterisation of plates was carried out to identify the constitutive equation between 20°C and 1040°C.The second line is about the interface modelling along welding and the prediction of their mechanical strength, as a whole can lead to the definition of an interface acceptability criterion. A microstructural and mechanical study has enabled to correlate the mechanical strength of a diffusion-bonded junction and its bonded area. Indeed, residual porosity disappearance is the main criterion to get good interfaces mechanical strength. However, the grain boundary migration is required to reach the rolled material properties. A void closure analytical model (Hill and Wallach) was used to estimate the bonded area of an interface according to HIP cycle parameters by modelling the contribution of (visco)plastic and diffusion (surface and boundary) mechanisms. Associated with the correlation between mechanical strength and the fraction of bonded area, it enables to propose a predictive tool for the mechanical strength of diffusion-bonded interfaces.

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo dos processos de prensagem e sinterização do politetrafluoretileno (PTFE) com o objetivo principal de investigar a influência dos parâmetros desses processos na microestrutura e nas propriedades mecânicas do material após sinterização. O PTFE faz parte do grupo dos termoplásticos, mas assim como outros polímeros de alto peso molecular, apresenta elevada viscosidade no estado fundido que impede sua utilização em moldagem por injeção, e seu processamento é realizado por compactação a frio do pó polimérico seguida de sinterização. No processo de sinterização é aplicado um tratamento térmico acima da temperatura de fusão do material que é responsável por grandes deformações anisotrópicas que, por sua vez, são dependentes do histórico de carregamentos induzidos na fase de compactação. Com o objetivo de desenvolver modelos de comportamento termomecânicos para realizar simulações computacionais dessas etapas de fabricação, ensaios experimentais foram realizados para se investigar os diferentes mecanismos de evolução microestrutural e de deformações nas etapas de compactação e sinterização. O estudo experimental do processo de compactação compreendeu a realização de ensaios de compactação uniaxial (oedométrico), de compactação hidrostática em prensa isostática e ensaios triaxiais verdadeiros em um dispositivo original acoplado numa prensa triaxial com seis atuadores eletrohidráulicos. Através dos resultados obtidos dos ensaios de compactação foi possível identificar os parâmetros do modelo de Drucker-Prager/cap, disponível na biblioteca de leis de comportamento do programa de cálculo pelo método dos elementos finitos ABAQUSTM, que permitiu de simular numericamente alguns casos simples. O estudo experimental do processo de sinterização foi realizado com o auxílio de ensaios de termogravimetria (TGA), calorimetria exploratória diferencial (DSC) e ensaios de dilatometria em corpos-de-prova isótropos e anisótropos com diferentes índices de vazios. Através dos resultados obtidos destes ensaios foi possível identificar que a deformação global de sinterização é composta por uma deformação térmica reversível, uma deformação devido à mudança de fase cristalina em fase amorfa -ou vice-versa-, uma deformação devido ao fechamento dos vazios e uma deformação de recuperação. Este estudo foi realizado em dois tipos de materiais, sendo o PTFE puro e o PTFE reforçado com 5wt% de EkonolTM e 5wt% de fibras de carbono, respectivamente comercializados pelos nomes de TeflonTM 6407 e TeflonTM 6507. / The main objective of this work is to study the influence the process parameters on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of components manufactured by compaction at room temperature and sintering of polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE). Similary to other High Molecular Weight Polymers and although it belongs to the group of thermoplastic polymers, since it cannot be processed in the melt state because its very high viscosity, PTFE, is powder processed -that consists in sintering compacted powder-. Sintering corresponds to a heat treatment up to temperatures higher than the melting temprature, inducing finite deformations that are generally anistropic and dependent on the mechanical loading the material has been submitted to during the pre-compaction at room temperature. In order to develop thermo-mechanical constitutive equations that could be used during predictive numerical simulations of the whole process, different tests have been performed to study the different mechanisms that are responsible for microstructural evolutions and deformations during compaction and sintering. The experimental study of the compaction has been performed via uniaxial (oedometric) compaction tests, hydrostatic compaction tests that were made with an isostatic hydraulic press and triaxial tests that were made with and original device installed on an electrohydraulic testing machine six actuators. A \"Drucker-Prager/cap\" type elasto-plastic model -as available in the constitutiveequations library of ABAQUSTM industrial finite element software- has been identified from the results of these tests, so that a few simple cases have been numerically simulated. The experimental study of the sintering process has been performed via Thermo-Gravimetric Analyses (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetric analyses (DSC) and dilatometry tests that were performed on isotropic or anisotropic specimens with different values of the porosity From the results of these tests it has been possible to decompose the sintering deformation into different mechanisms, viz. a reversible thermal expansion, a strain that is linked to the transition from the crystalline phase to the amorphous phase -or vice versa-, a pore closure strain and a recovery strain. This study has been performed on a powder made of pure PTFE and a powder of PTFE filed with 5wt% EkonolTM and 5wt% of carbon fibres, respectively available as TeflonTM 6407 and TeflonTM 6507.

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo dos processos de prensagem e sinterização do politetrafluoretileno (PTFE) com o objetivo principal de investigar a influência dos parâmetros desses processos na microestrutura e nas propriedades mecânicas do material após sinterização. O PTFE faz parte do grupo dos termoplásticos, mas assim como outros polímeros de alto peso molecular, apresenta elevada viscosidade no estado fundido que impede sua utilização em moldagem por injeção, e seu processamento é realizado por compactação a frio do pó polimérico seguida de sinterização. No processo de sinterização é aplicado um tratamento térmico acima da temperatura de fusão do material que é responsável por grandes deformações anisotrópicas que, por sua vez, são dependentes do histórico de carregamentos induzidos na fase de compactação. Com o objetivo de desenvolver modelos de comportamento termomecânicos para realizar simulações computacionais dessas etapas de fabricação, ensaios experimentais foram realizados para se investigar os diferentes mecanismos de evolução microestrutural e de deformações nas etapas de compactação e sinterização. O estudo experimental do processo de compactação compreendeu a realização de ensaios de compactação uniaxial (oedométrico), de compactação hidrostática em prensa isostática e ensaios triaxiais verdadeiros em um dispositivo original acoplado numa prensa triaxial com seis atuadores eletrohidráulicos. Através dos resultados obtidos dos ensaios de compactação foi possível identificar os parâmetros do modelo de Drucker-Prager/cap, disponível na biblioteca de leis de comportamento do programa de cálculo pelo método dos elementos finitos ABAQUSTM, que permitiu de simular numericamente alguns casos simples. O estudo experimental do processo de sinterização foi realizado com o auxílio de ensaios de termogravimetria (TGA), calorimetria exploratória diferencial (DSC) e ensaios de dilatometria em corpos-de-prova isótropos e anisótropos com diferentes índices de vazios. Através dos resultados obtidos destes ensaios foi possível identificar que a deformação global de sinterização é composta por uma deformação térmica reversível, uma deformação devido à mudança de fase cristalina em fase amorfa -ou vice-versa-, uma deformação devido ao fechamento dos vazios e uma deformação de recuperação. Este estudo foi realizado em dois tipos de materiais, sendo o PTFE puro e o PTFE reforçado com 5wt% de EkonolTM e 5wt% de fibras de carbono, respectivamente comercializados pelos nomes de TeflonTM 6407 e TeflonTM 6507. / The main objective of this work is to study the influence the process parameters on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of components manufactured by compaction at room temperature and sintering of polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE). Similary to other High Molecular Weight Polymers and although it belongs to the group of thermoplastic polymers, since it cannot be processed in the melt state because its very high viscosity, PTFE, is powder processed -that consists in sintering compacted powder-. Sintering corresponds to a heat treatment up to temperatures higher than the melting temprature, inducing finite deformations that are generally anistropic and dependent on the mechanical loading the material has been submitted to during the pre-compaction at room temperature. In order to develop thermo-mechanical constitutive equations that could be used during predictive numerical simulations of the whole process, different tests have been performed to study the different mechanisms that are responsible for microstructural evolutions and deformations during compaction and sintering. The experimental study of the compaction has been performed via uniaxial (oedometric) compaction tests, hydrostatic compaction tests that were made with an isostatic hydraulic press and triaxial tests that were made with and original device installed on an electrohydraulic testing machine six actuators. A \"Drucker-Prager/cap\" type elasto-plastic model -as available in the constitutiveequations library of ABAQUSTM industrial finite element software- has been identified from the results of these tests, so that a few simple cases have been numerically simulated. The experimental study of the sintering process has been performed via Thermo-Gravimetric Analyses (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetric analyses (DSC) and dilatometry tests that were performed on isotropic or anisotropic specimens with different values of the porosity From the results of these tests it has been possible to decompose the sintering deformation into different mechanisms, viz. a reversible thermal expansion, a strain that is linked to the transition from the crystalline phase to the amorphous phase -or vice versa-, a pore closure strain and a recovery strain. This study has been performed on a powder made of pure PTFE and a powder of PTFE filed with 5wt% EkonolTM and 5wt% of carbon fibres, respectively available as TeflonTM 6407 and TeflonTM 6507.