An industrial aluminum roller was designed by TEKA Systems S.A., to be installed in a factory of EL.V.AL. S.A. Industrial rollers use rolling pistons, to apply huge forces on aluminum slabs and reduce their thickness. To ensure the safe and uninterrupted operation of the roller, SIMTEC studied the static structural behavior of the machine in ANSYS Mechanical. A CAD model of the geometry was imported from AUTODESK Inventor into ANSYS DesignModeler and a “clean-up” procedure was applied. The final model included all the important parts, having simplified only minor details, like small bolts and nuts, chamfers and bends. Thanks to the symmetry of the machine, the model was cut in half.

Two force cases were studied for the rolling piston, a standard force of 150 tn and an overload of 200 tn. Moreover, standard boundary conditions were applied to the FEA model, assuming that its bottom was fixed on the floor, each part had its own weight and the proper moments were assigned to the roller’s vertical shafts (one in the symmetric model). Minor plastic deformations were detected in small regions, confined near the corners. These were attributed to the removal of the bends and chamfers of the model without representing any real threat. The study of the Total Deformation and the Equivalent Stress (von Mises) showed that the piston and the rest of the industrial roller operate in the elastic region.

ANSYS tools: ANSYS FLUENT

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