This study examines the evolution of dislocation density in cold rolled 1050 Al alloy. Various techniques such as numerical approaches, indentation techniques, X-ray diffraction line profile analysis, and electron backscattering diffraction were employed for the characterization of the deformed state. These methods allowed us to determine the nature of the evolution of the dislocation substructure during cold rolling. The investigated material was subjected to thickness reductions varying from 5% to 47%, which resulted in a continuous increase in hardness while the estimated dislocation density showed a tendency towards a less intense increase after a ~30% straining level. The numerical approaches employed, such as the Kubin–Estrin and a modified version of this model, are capable of ensuring a reasonable estimation of dislocation density at low and moderate deformation levels (~5–30%), while the discrepancy between the measured and simulated data is negligible when the material has been exposed to more severe rolling reductions.

Topology optimization and Generative Design are two methods to create volume or stiffness optimized parts and they are used more frequently nowadays. However, the specific methods are often not well described and the connection between these two is not clearly explained. In this article, a force-flow based topology optimization process has been explained in detail and extended with a function to be able to use as a Generative Design tool. The proposed algorithm has been tested on three 2D shapes and the effectiveness was evaluated. This work clarifies the vague description of theoretical solutions by presenting in detail the operation of the algorithm and bridging the lack of information that exists between the shape or topology optimization procedure and the generative design solution.

The recrystallization (RX) kinetics of commercially pure Al alloy is studied under the scope of annealing temperature, time, and degree of deformation. To examine the distribution of recrystallization, Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov (JMAK) theory is employed, where the path of microstructural transformation from the deformed state to the fully recovered one is studied as a function of the volume fraction of recrystallized grains ($X_V$) and annealing time. The drop in hardness is recorded for the samples at various stages of annealing with a corresponding decrease in stored energy as the annealing time increases. The stored energy obtained from the hardness results and Orientation Imaging Microscopy (OIM)-based method is found to be in good agreement with each other, proving the efficiency of both techniques. To determine the volume fraction of the recrystallized microstructure, data obtained from Vickers hardness measurements are used. Various parameters associated with recrystallization statistics such as the critical radius of nuclei, the incubation period, and the mobility of High-Angle Grain Boundaries (HAGB) were derived from the experimental evidence. The experimental data also suggest a sharp drop in the velocity of HAGB as the RX transformation process approaches its completion, which is found to be a direct result of a drop in stored energy. A softening window between 42 s and 55 s is identified for our experimental data where the hardness, stored energy, and velocity of HAGB drops very sharply, and the maximum fraction of deformed grains is expected to be converted to the recrystallized ones. Along with experimental observations, an analytical model was developed, which helps to approximate the kinetics of RX and corresponding parameters for various annealing temperatures and strains while revealing the characteristic feature of Avrami exponent n. Both experimental evidence and model data reveal a very strong dependency of recrystallization behavior on the stored energy.

The current study reports three different techniques to estimate the distribution of dislocation density at the mid thickness of 1050 Al alloy. It is well known that the strain distribution is inhomogeneous through the thickness of rolled materials, which affects the evolution of dislocation density during the process of deformation. In this study, the number of dislocations was calculated experimentally using indentation technique in 46.8% cold rolled 1050 Al sheet and the result was verified by two numerical methods.

In the present work, both symmetric and asymmetric rolling processes were investigated by means of numerical approaches. From the algorithm presented, the values of rolling pressure and sliding velocity in the roll gap were determined. These variables allow the estimation of tribological parameters of a given material. To determine the wear of the rolls and rolled materials the Archard's law has been employed. Results of numerical simulations show that the quantitative characteristics of the wear reveal a slight change for slower roll. Whereas the wear value for the faster roll increases with an increase of roll velocity ratio. It was found that for a given roll velocity ratio, rise of friction coefficient causes insignificant change in the wear value for the slower roll, while this value tends to decrease rapidly for the faster roll.