Experimental and numerical investigation of extrusion die profiles for uniform and effective case-hardening treatment

One of the utmost challenges of hot aluminum extrusion is to design the die cavities, used to extrude thin-walled profiles, by considering the effective nitriding surface treatment of the die bearing surface in terms of nitride layer uniformity. In the present study, various AISI H13 steel samples (having commonly-used profile geometric features) are manufactured using wire EDM and subsequently nitrided using two-stage controlled nitriding treatment. The uniformity and depth of nitride layers formation on these are investigated in terms of compound layer and total nitride case depth using optical and scanning electron microscopes. Finite element code ABAQUS is used to simulate the nitrding process using sequentially coupled thermo-diffusive analysis in line with experimental set up. Both experimental and numerical results are found in close agreement in terms of nitrogen concentration and corresponding micro-hardness profiles. Some design modifications are implemented in FE code for critical die profile features for uniform nitride layer development. In view of the current results, some design guidelines are suggested for effective and uniform nitride layer formation in order to secure high quality extruded product and extended die life.