Applicability valuation for evaluation of surface deflection in automotive outer panels

Upon unloading in a forming process there is elastic recovery, which is the release of the elastic strains and the redistribution of the residual stresses through the thickness direction, thus producing surface deflection. It causes changes in shape and dimensions that can create major problem in the external appearance of outer panels. Thus surface deflection prediction is an important issue in sheet metal forming industry. Many factors could affect surface deflection in the process, such as material variations in mechanical properties, sheet thickness, tool geometry, processing parameters and lubricant condition. The shape and dimension problem in press forming is defined as a trouble mainly caused by the elastic recovery of materials during the forming. The use of high strength steel sheets in the manufacturing of automobile outer panels has increased in the automotive industry over the years because of its lightweight and fuel-efficient improvement. But one of the major concerns of stamping is surface deflection in the formed outer panels. Hence, to be cost effective, accurate prediction must be made of its formability. The automotive industry places rigi

Effect of Ductile Damage Evolution in Sheet Metal Forming: Experimental and Numerical Investigations

The numerical simulation based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) is widely used in academic institutes and in the industry. It is a useful tool to predict many phenomena present in the classical manufacturing forming processes such as necking, fracture, springback, buckling and wrinkling. But, the results of such numerical model depend strongly on the parameters of the constitutive behavior model. In the first part of this work, we focus on the traditional identification of the constitutive law using oriented tensile tests (0°, 45°, and 90° with respect to the rolling direction). A Digital Image Correlation (DIC) method is used in order to measure the displacements on the surface of the specimen and to analyze the necking evolution and the instability along the shear band. Therefore, bulge tests involving a number of die shapes (circular and elliptic) were developed. In a second step, a mixed numerical–experimental method is used for the identification of the plastic behavior of the stainless steel metal sheet. The initial parameters of the inverse identification were extracted from a uniaxial tensile test. The optimization procedure uses a combination of a Monte-Carlo and a Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. In the second part of this work, according to some results obtained by SEM (Scaning Electron Microscopy) of the crack zones on the tensile specimens, a Gurson Tvergaard Needleman (GTN) ductile model of damage has been selected for the numerical simulations. This model was introduced in order to give informations concerning crack initiations during hydroforming. At the end of the paper, experimental and numerical comparisons of sheet metal forming applications are presented and validate the proposed approach

Experimental and numerical analysis of micromechanical damage in the punching process for High-Strength Low-Alloy steels

Sequential sheet metal forming processes can result in the accumulation of work hardening and damage effects in the workpiece material. The mechanical strength of the final component depends on the “evolution” of these two characteristics in the different production steps. The punching process, which is usually in the beginning of the production chain, has an important impact on the stress, strain and damage states in the punched zones. It is essential that the influence of these mechanical fields be taken into account in the simulation of the forming sequence. In order to evaluate the evolution of each phenomenon, and in particular damage accumulation in the forming process, it is essential to characterize the punching process. The objective of this work is to understand and identify the physical damage mechanisms that occur during the punching operation and to establish relevant numerical models to predict the fracture location. The effect of the punch–die clearance on mechanical fields distribution is also discussed in this work

Recent Achievements in Numerical Simulation in Sheet Metal Forming Processes

Purpose of this paper: During the recent 10-15 years, Computer Aided Process Planning and Die Design evolved as one of the most important engineering tools in sheet metal forming, particularly in the automotive industry. This emerging role is strongly emphasized by the rapid development of Finite Element Modelling, as well. The purpose of this paper is to give a general overview about the recent achievements in this very important field of sheet metal forming and to introduce some special results in this development activity. Design/methodology/approach: Concerning the CAE activities in sheet metal forming, there are two main approaches: one of them may be regarded as knowledge based process planning, whilst the other as simulation based process planning. The author attempts to integrate these two separate developments in knowledge and simulation based approach by linking commercial CAD and FEM systems. Findings: Applying the above approach a more powerful and efficient process planning and die design solution can be achieved radically reducing the time and cost of product development cycle and improving product quality. Research limitations: Due to the different modelling approaches in CAD and FEM systems, the biggest challenge is to enhance the robustness of data exchange capabilities between various systems to provide an even more streamlined information flow. Practical implications: The proposed integrated solutions have great practical importance to improve the global competitiveness of sheet metal forming in the very important segment of industry. Originality/value: The concept described in this paper may have specific value both for process planning and die design engineers

The effect of quenching and defects size on the HCF behaviour of Boron steel

This work investigates the effect of natural and artificial surface defects and quenching on the fatigue strength of a Boron steel (22MnB5). A vast experimental campaign has been undertaken to study the high cycle fatigue behaviour and more specifically the fatigue damage mechanisms observed in quenched and untreated materials, under different loading conditions and with differents artificial defects sizes (from 25 μm to 370 μm radius). In order to test the sheet metal in shear an original test apparatus is used. The critical defect size is determined to be 100 ± 50 μm. This critical size does not appear to depend on the loading type or the microstructure of the material (i.e. ferritic–perlitic or martensitic). However, for large defects, the quenched material is more sensitive to the defect size than the untreated material. For a defect size range of 100–300 μm the slope of the Kitagawa–Takahashi diagram is approximately −1/3 and −1/6 for the quenched and untreated materials respectively. A probabilistic approach that leads naturally to a probabilistic Kitagawa type diagram is developed. This methodology can be used to explain the relationship between the influence of the heat treatment and the defect size on the fatigue behaviour of this steel

Improvements in FE-analysis of real-life sheet metal forming

An overview will be presented of recent developments concerning the application\ud and development of computer codes for numerical simulation of sheet metal forming\ud processes. In this paper attention is paid to some strategies which are followed to improve the\ud accuracy and to reduce the computation time of a finite element simulation. Special attention\ud will be paid to the mathematical modeling of the material deformation and friction, and the\ud effect of these models on the results of simulations. An equivalent drawbead model is\ud developed which avoids a drastic increase of computation time without significant loss of\ud accuracy. The real geometry of the drawbead is replaced by a line on the tool surface. When\ud an element of the sheet metal passes this drawbead line an additional drawbead restraining\ud force, lift force and a plastic strain are added to that element. A commonly used yield\ud criterion for anisotropic plastic deformation is the Hill yield criterion. This description is not\ud always sufficient to accurately describe the material behavior. This is due to the\ud determination of material parameters by uni-axial tests only. A new yield criterion is\ud proposed, which directly uses the experimental results at multi-axial stress states. The yield\ud criterion is based on the pure shear point, the uni-axial point, the plane strain point and the\ud equi-biaxial point

Numerical and physical modelling in forming

An overview will be presented of recent developments concerning the application\ud and development of computer codes for numerical simulation of forming processes. Special\ud attention will be paid to the mathematical modeling of the material deformation and friction,\ud and the effect of these models on the results of simulation

Prediction of wrinkling and springback in sheet metal forming

The finite element simulation is currently a powerful tool to optimize forming processes in order to produce defect-free products. Wrinkling and springback are main geometrical defects arising in sheet metal forming. Nevertheless, the prediction of such defects requires accurate numerical models. This study presents the experimental and numerical analysis of a rail with high tendency to develop both wrinkling (top surface of geometry) and springback (flange). The punch force evolution and the final geometry of the rail, evaluated in four different cross-sections, are the main variables analysed. Globally, the numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental measurements. However, the shape of the wrinkle is significantly influenced by the symmetry conditions considered in the model (1/4 of the blank). In fact, considering the full model of the blank, the numerical results are in better agreement with the experimental ones. On the other hand, the computational cost of the numerical simulation considering the full blank is approximately 12 times higher than using 1/4 of the blank.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under projects with reference UID/EMS/00285/2013, PTDC/EMS-TEC/0702/2014 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016779) and PTDC/EMS-TEC/6400/2014 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016876) by UE/FEDER through the program COMPETE2020. The first author is also grateful to the FCT for the Postdoctoral grant SFRH/BPD/101334/2014

Press forming a 0/90 cross-ply advanced thermoplastic composite using the double-dome benchmark geometry

A pre-consolidated thermoplastic advanced composite cross-ply sheet comprised of two uniaxial plies orientated at 0/90° has been thermoformed using tooling based on the double-dome bench-mark geometry. Mitigation of wrinkling was achieved using springs to apply tension to the forming sheet rather than using a friction-based blank-holder. The shear angle across the surface of the formed geometry has been measured and compared with data collected previously from experiments on woven engineering fabrics. The shear behaviour of the material has been characterised as a function of rate and temperature using the picture frame shear test technique. Multi-scale modelling predictions of the material’s shear behaviour have been incorporated in finite element forming predictions; the latter are compared against the experimental results

Knowledge based cloud FE simulation of sheet metal forming processes

The use of Finite Element (FE) simulation software to adequately predict the outcome of sheet metal forming processes is crucial to enhancing the efficiency and lowering the development time of such processes, whilst reducing costs involved in trial-and-error prototyping. Recent focus on the substitution of steel components with aluminum alloy alternatives in the automotive and aerospace sectors has increased the need to simulate the forming behavior of such alloys for ever more complex component geometries. However these alloys, and in particular their high strength variants, exhibit limited formability at room temperature, and high temperature manufacturing technologies have been developed to form them. Consequently, advanced constitutive models are required to reflect the associated temperature and strain rate effects. Simulating such behavior is computationally very expensive using conventional FE simulation techniques. This paper presents a novel Knowledge Based Cloud FE (KBC-FE) simulation technique that combines advanced material and friction models with conventional FE simulations in an efficient manner thus enhancing the capability of commercial simulation software packages. The application of these methods is demonstrated through two example case studies, namely: the prediction of a material's forming limit under hot stamping conditions, and the tool life prediction under multi-cycle loading conditions