MATERIALS & DESIGN, vol.32, no.5, pp.2650-2662, 2011 (SCI-Expanded)
This study aimed to determine the proper combinations of numerical modeling conditions (e.g. solver, element type, material model) for warm hydroforming of AA5754-O aluminum alloy sheets. Assessment of finite element analyses (FEA) is based on comparison of numerical results and experimental measurements obtained from closed-die forming, hydraulic bulge and tensile tests at different temperature (25-300 degrees C) and strain rate (0.0013-0.013 1/sec) levels. Thinning (% t) and cavity filling ratios (CFR) on the formed parts were taken as comparison parameters. Several numerical analyses employing different element types, solution methods and material models were performed using the commercially available FEA package LS-Dyna to determine the best combination of modeling options to simulate the actual warm hydroforming operation as accurately as possible. Analyses showed that relatively better predictions were obtained using isotropic material model, shell elements and implicit solution technique when compared with experimental results. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.