The effects of central cross-section diameters of rollers on doubly curved surface rolling

The metal flow is complicated and will be affected by the dimensions of the rolling deformation zone during the rolling of doubly curved sheet metal surfaces. The dimensions of the rolling deformation zone are mainly affected by the rolling reduction and the central cross-section diameters of rollers. The work studied the influences of central cross-section diameters of rollers on the longitudinal bending deformation of formed spherical surfaces and the stability of the rolling process combined with the rolling reduction. The results showed that the larger the central cross-section diameters of rollers, the more stable the rolling process, and the better the shape accuracy of formed spherical surfaces. When the central cross-section diameters of rollers were relatively small, the longitudinal bending deformation of formed spherical surfaces increased with the increased central cross-section diameters of rollers. However, an excessively large roller diameter restrained the longitudinal bending deformation of the sheet. When the central cross-section diameters of rollers were relatively large, the longitudinal bending deformation of formed spherical surfaces decreased with the increased central cross-section diameters of rollers. The results can be used as a reference for designing rollers to ensure that formed doubly curved surfaces can obtain greater longitudinal bending deformations and better shape accuracy under the same rolling reduction.