Transient Thermomechanical Simulation of 7075 Aluminum Contraction around a SiO₂ Microparticle

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Computational Modeling

Background:

• The metallurgic industry faces challenges in increasing mechanical resistance of finished products.
• Incorporating microparticles into metallic materials offers advantages but complicates internal stress distribution.
• Understanding microparticle effects is crucial for advanced material development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To simulate the cooling sequence of 7075 aluminum with SiO2 microparticles.
• To compare the effect of circular versus oval microparticle shapes on residual stress distribution.
• To analyze shear stress concentrations under tension load based on microparticle geometry.

Main Methods:

• Construction of two-dimensional (2D) finite element models in ANSYS® 2019.
• Simulation of a thermomechanical transient analysis for a cooling sequence.
• Application of a subsequent tension load to analyze stress concentrations.

Main Results:

• Oval SiO2 microparticles resulted in increased residual stresses compared to circular ones.
• Higher magnitude shear stress concentrations were observed around the 'covertex' of the oval microparticle.
• The geometrical shape of microparticles significantly influences stress distribution.

Conclusions:

• Microparticle shape is a critical factor in determining residual stress and stress concentration in metallic matrices.
• The simulation results provide valuable insights for engineering materials with tailored stress locations.
• This study contributes to the development of advanced aluminum composites with enhanced mechanical properties.