An experimental and numerical study on aluminum alloy tailor heat treated blanks

Information is presented on the conceptualization, experimental study, and numerical process simulation of tailor heat treated aluminum alloy blanks. This concept is intended to improve the forming behavior of aluminum parts in challenging conditions. The implementation requires precise control of laser heat treatment parameters within a suitable industrial framework. The study details material properties, heat treatment parameters, and experimental results for the strength and elongation properties of an AA6063-T6 aluminum alloy. Constitutive modeling is applied using the Hocket–Sherby equation, which allowed us to establish a correlation between laser heat treatment maximum temperature and the corresponding material softening degree. Based on the generated flow stress–strain curves, a numerical simulation of a representative case study was performed with Abaqus finite element software highlighting potential improvements of tailor heat treated blanks (THTB). The influence and effectiveness of heat-affected zone (HAZ) dimensions and material softening were analyzed.This research was funded by Projects I&DT SIT—Softening in Tool, grant number CENTRO02-0853-FEDER-045419 and METRICS (UID/EMS/04077/2020)

in process control of rotational speed in friction stir welding of sheet blanks with variable mechanical properties

Abstract In the present work, an adaptive control constraint system was applied in the friction stir welding of AA6082 aluminum alloy with the aim of tailoring the mechanical properties of the sheet blank to the subsequent forming processes. To this purpose, blanks in the solution heat-treated and artificially aged (T6), and in the annealed (O) conditions were welded according to a well defined layout. Such in-process control strategy was based on the variation of the controlled variable (rotational speed of the pin tool) in order to keep the measured one (vertical force) constant during the welding stage of the process. To this end, a preliminary investigation on the effect of the rotational speed, varying from 1000 to 2500 rpm, on the vertical force during FSW was performed. The capability of the proposed approach in friction stir welding sheet blanks with variable mechanical properties along the welding line was proven

Uniformity of thickness of metal sheets by patchwork blanks: potential of adhesive bonding

The sheet metal forming operations generally involve the production of parts characterized by a non-uniform thickness distribution. However, in some cases, a product characterized by a distribution of thicknesses that is as uniform as possible may be desirable. This result can be obtained by using multiphase processes or by subtraction or addition of material from the blank. In this work, which deals with the method for adding material, an innovative methodology has been proposed as an alternative to the welding process. Specifically, the methodology is based on the bonding of a patch (before the deformation process), on the base plate with a constant thickness, in the area that most suffers from the thinning caused by the forming process. In this way, it was possible to influence the deformation of the patchwork blank and its thicknesses distribution. Through finite element analysis, it was possible to study the formability of a patchwork blank by varying the thickness and size of the patch, in order to produce an axially symmetric component by stretching through a hemispherical punch. Preliminary experimental tests demonstrated the reliability of the bonding and the potential of this method to uniform the final thickness of the sheet

Advances and trends in plastic forming technologies for welded tubes

AbstractWith the implementation of environmental protection, sustainable development and conservation-oriented policies, components and parts of thin-walled welded tubes have gained increasing application in the aircraft and automotive industries because of their advantages: easily achieving forming and manufacturing process at low cost and in a short time. The current research on welded tube plastic forming is mainly concentrated on tube internal high-pressure forming, tube bending forming, and tube spinning forming. The focuses are on the material properties and characterization of welded tubes, finite element modeling for welded tube forming, and inhomogeneous deformation behavior and the mechanism and rules of deformation coordination in welded tube plastic forming. This paper summarizes the research progress in welded tube plastic forming from these aspects. Finally, with a focus on the urgent demand of the aviation, aerospace and automotive industries for high-strength and light-weight tubes, this paper discusses the development trends and challenges in the theory and technology of welded tube plastic forming in the future. Among them, laser tailor-welded technology will find application in the manufacture of high-strength steel tubes. Tube-end forming technology, such as tube flaring and flanging technology, will expand its application in welded tubes. Therefore, future studies will focus on the FE modeling regarding how to consider effects of welding on residual stresses, welding distortions and microstructure, the inhomogeneous deformation and coordination mechanism of the plastic forming process of tailor-welded tubes, and some end-forming processes of welded tubes, and more comprehensive research on the forming mechanism and limit of welded tubes