Residual stress and distortion modeling on aeronautical aluminum alloy parts for machining sequence optimization

The manufacture of machined components for the aeronautics industry often involves the removal of large quantities of material, while the stringent demands on quality require special care to be taken during the manufacturing process. For most components of this kind, the principal source of distortion is the relaxation of residual stress after the earlier manufacturing processes. In this paper, the problem is addressed through modeling and simulating the final displacement fields obtained after different machining sequences of an aeronautic turbine component, in order to determine the optimum machining sequence among the options that lead to the same final part. Some of the main problems associated with this issue are also addressed, such as the high computational cost and time needed for simulations and expensive equipment needed for residual stress measurement. The level-set technique is employed, which decreases remeshing needs, while affordable nondestructive techniques for measuring residual stress are developed, providing qualitative information that is especially useful in industrial environments.