Finite element-based optimization of a porthole die for an AA6063 carrier panel profile under radially expanding material flow

Unlike conventional aluminum extrusion profiles, the AA6063 carrier panel profile investigated in this study has a circumscribing circle diameter (CCD) larger than the billet diameter, resulting in an uncommon radially expanding material flow during porthole die extrusion. This unique flow condition considerably increases the difficulty of achieving uniform distributions of material flow, temperature, and strain. To overcome these challenges, finite element analyses were performed using Altair Inspire Extrude Metal 2022.2, and the die geometry was optimized through two successive design iterations until uniform material flow, temperature, and strain distributions satisfying industrial production requirements were achieved. The flow imbalance was reduced from approximately 60% in the initial design to about 5% in the optimized configuration. In addition, the required extrusion load was decreased by approximately 8%. The optimized die was successfully validated through industrial extrusion trials, showing excellent agreement with numerical predictions. The proposed methodology provides a practical design framework for complex hollow profiles exhibiting radially expanding material flow.