The use of lightweight alloy offers significant potential to improve product performances. However, the application of formed lightweight alloy components in critical structures is restricted due to this material’s low formability at room temperature and lack of knowledge for processing lightweight alloys at elevated temperature. Warm forming is becoming of great interest in order to increase the formability of these materials and many conventional processes are adapted including the temperature as a new parameter. In addition to this option, warm hydroforming technology for the lightweight materials is currently emerging to achieve reduced number of manufacturing steps and part consolidation. The warm hydroforming process makes use of the improved formability at elevated temperature and it also utilizes the fluid to transport the forming action as well as heat. In the present work, the authors have studied the warm hydroforming process using two different numerical approaches in order to simulate it. The first software is traditionally used in metal stamping simulations (also warm and hot) unlike the second. The analyzed material is an Al 6061 alloy 2,03 mm thick. Process responses such as: bulge height, thickness reduction and strain distribution have been evaluated different temperature levels (room temperature, equal to 23°C, 100°C and 200 °C). The obtained results have been used to study the accuracy of the second software in sheet warm hydroforming simulation. The authors have also defined the more reliable numerical environment in order to develop material damage models in warm forming conditions.
Finite Element Simulation for Sheet Warm Hydroforming
DEL PRETE, Antonio;PAPADIA, Gabriele;DE VITIS, ANTONIO ALBERTO;PRIMO, TERESA
2011-01-01
Abstract
The use of lightweight alloy offers significant potential to improve product performances. However, the application of formed lightweight alloy components in critical structures is restricted due to this material’s low formability at room temperature and lack of knowledge for processing lightweight alloys at elevated temperature. Warm forming is becoming of great interest in order to increase the formability of these materials and many conventional processes are adapted including the temperature as a new parameter. In addition to this option, warm hydroforming technology for the lightweight materials is currently emerging to achieve reduced number of manufacturing steps and part consolidation. The warm hydroforming process makes use of the improved formability at elevated temperature and it also utilizes the fluid to transport the forming action as well as heat. In the present work, the authors have studied the warm hydroforming process using two different numerical approaches in order to simulate it. The first software is traditionally used in metal stamping simulations (also warm and hot) unlike the second. The analyzed material is an Al 6061 alloy 2,03 mm thick. Process responses such as: bulge height, thickness reduction and strain distribution have been evaluated different temperature levels (room temperature, equal to 23°C, 100°C and 200 °C). The obtained results have been used to study the accuracy of the second software in sheet warm hydroforming simulation. The authors have also defined the more reliable numerical environment in order to develop material damage models in warm forming conditions.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
