Forming of Aluminum Alloy Sheets for Automotive

Applications
May 29th 2012

By

Nimet Kardes Sever

Madhumitha Balachanderan
Eren Billur
and
Dr. Taylan Altan, Director and Professor

Center for Precision Forming (CPF)

www.cpforming.org / www.ercnsm.org
Copyright Center for Precision Forming (CPF). All Rights Reserved.

OUTLINE
Introduction

Material Properties
Friction

Finite Element Method

Past and Ongoing Work

INTRODUCTION
The objective is to reduce vehicle weight by utilizing aluminum instead of steel.
The

most

commonly

used

aluminum

alloys

in

automotive

industry:

5083-O, 5182-O, 5754-O, 6014, 6022, 6063-T6, 6111-T4, 6016-T4, 7075

Alloy designation
Wrought aluminum alloys are designated by 4 digit numbers.
The first digit indicates the principal alloying elements.

5xxx Magnesium not heat treatable - for structural and inner body apps.
6xxx Magnesium and Silicon heat treatable for inner and outer body apps.
7xxx Magnesium and Zinc heat treatable for structural part app.
Various tempers:
F Temper As fabricated
O Temper Annealed
H Temper Strain hardened
T Temper - Thermally treated

INTRODUCTION
Properties of 5xxx and 6xxx aluminum alloys

Courtesy: Hydro Aluminium Deutschland GmbH, R&D, 2004

INTRODUCTION
Use of aluminum sheet in automotive applications

Audi A8, 2010

Courtesy: Doors and Closures in Car Body Engineering, Bad Nauheim, Germany 2010

INTRODUCTION
Use of aluminum in automotive applications

6
Courtesy: Doors and Closures in Car Body Engineering, Bad Nauheim, Germany 2010

INTRODUCTION
Use of aluminum in automotive applications

Unit/day

7
Courtesy: Doors and Closures in Car Body Engineering, Bad Nauheim, Germany 2010

INTRODUCTION
Aluminum compared to steel (assuming part dimensions are the same)
Aluminum alloys have lower formability and strength than steel.
Cost of material for aluminum is higher than for steel.
Aluminum alloys used in automotive applications are corrosion resistant.
Dent resistance, energy absorption and crash resistance of aluminum panel are
less than those of a steel panel.
The tendency for wrinkling and cracking is higher.
Undesirable stretcher surface markings negatively affects the surface quality of

aluminum panels.
Galling is a problem due to the abrasive oxide layer of aluminum.
During piercing and trimming of aluminum, slivers (small aluminum particles)

can cause problems.

INTRODUCTION
Current practice in aluminum sheet forming
Cold forming forming at room temperature
Warm forming forming at elevated temperature (<350C or 660F )
The formability of aluminum alloys increases with increasing
temperature and decreasing strain rate.

The blank (and sometimes the dies) should be heated.

More complex tools are required and insulation is necessary if the dies
are heated.
Cycle time is longer than cold forming due to heating process.
Lubricants that perform well at elevated temperatures should be used.
Springback is reduced.
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INTRODUCTION
Current practice in aluminum sheet forming

Effect of forming temperature on mechanical properties of 5000 series

aluminum alloys [Sakurai, 2008]
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MATERIAL PROPERTIES

Total

Total elongation and ultimate tensile strength of aluminum vs. that of steel

Courtesy: European Aluminum Association

11

MATERIAL PROPERTIES
Density, Elastic modulus and anisotropy of aluminum vs. that of steel
The density of aluminum (2.7 g/cm3) is one third of steel (7.85 g/cm3). Thus, weight
can be reduced.
Elastic modulus of aluminum (70 GPa) is one third of steel (210 GPa). As a result,
the parts previously designed for steel need to be redesigned to achieve the same
stiffness.

[Wohlecker, 2006]
Steel

Aluminum

Material

Mild
140/270

HSLA
350/450

DP
500/800

MS
1250/1520

5457-O

6060-T6

7021-T6

UTS (MPa)

270

450

800

1520

130

245

430

Smaller elastic modulus also results in more springback compensation (assuming the
strengths are the same).
Anisotropy values are lower than steel.

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FRICTION
Lubricants critical due to smoother surface [Meiler et al., 2004]

and [Rao et al., 2006]

Water free dry film - BMW

Boric acid dry film, H3BO3 non toxic and can be cleaned by water
Oleic acid non toxic and can be cleaned by organic solvents
Die materials and coatings [Nakamura et al., 2008] and European Aluminum Association
Cast steel instead of cast iron
Chrome plating
Nitriding
Titanium nitride
Vanadium nitride
Titanium carbide
DLC Diamond Like Carbon

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FRICTION
Effect of surface texture on friction

[Hartfield-Wunsch et al., 2011] and [Pfestorf et al., 2001]

Aluminum sheet is commercially available in three surface finishes:

Mill Finish (MF) comes from ground rolls for interior parts
Electric Discharge Texture (EDT) - comes from EDT rolls for skin panels
Dull Finish (DF) comes from shot blast rolls
Surface finish impacts the friction behavior during sheet metal forming.
EDT improves paint appearance and formability due to the presence of lubricant pockets
and isotropic surface (almost the same coefficient of friction in rolling and transverse
directions).
The EDT and DF samples have higher roughness values than MF samples.
However, MF samples have different coefficient of friction values in transverse and rolling
directions.

There is also precision texturing (PRETEX) and laser texturing (LT).

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FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

Critical simulation parameters that are different for aluminum
Elastic modulus: E-modulus of aluminum is significantly lower. Thus, more
springback is observed in the part.
Yield criteria: Aluminum is anisotropic. Consequently, yield criteria that considers
the effect of anisotropy such as Barlat or Hill 90 should be used.

Friction: Friction between tool and aluminum sheet is expected to be higher

compared to steel sheet assuming the forming process is identical since aluminum
has a smoother surface (less space for lubricant). Therefore, higher coefficient of
friction should be used.
Part design should be changed.
Initial blank dimensions should be modified.
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PAST AND ONGOING WORK

Past work at CPF/OSU
Material Properties and Formability of Aluminum Alloys
AA 6111, AA 5754-O, X626 -T4P
paper #397: Improving the Formability of Aluminum Alloy 3003-H14 with Computer Simulation
paper #286: Advanced Techniques to Improve the Formability of Aluminum Alloys

Bending, Flanging and Hemming of Aluminum Alloys

paper #287: Bending, Flanging and Hemming of Aluminum Sheet - An Experimental Study
paper #306: Computer Aided Design for Bending, Flanging and Hemming Steels and Aluminum
Alloys

Round and Rectangular Cup Drawing Tests and FE Simulations for Aluminum Alloys
paper #266: Deep Drawing of Rectangular Pans from Aluminum Alloy 2008-T4
paper #264: Deep Drawing and Reverse Drawing of Aluminum Alloy Cups

Drawing and Ironing of Cans Made of Aluminum Alloys

paper #263: Process Simulation for Can Manufacturing by Deep Drawing and Ironing

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PAST AND ONGOING WORK

Past work at CPF/OSU
Cold forming, Warm forming and Hydroforming of Aluminum Alloys
paper #317: Stamping and Hydroforming of Aluminum Alloys
paper #375-2,3,4: Saving Weight with Aluminum Stampings
paper #648: Cold and Warm Hydroforming of AA5754-O Sheet - FE Simulations and Experiments
paper #480-1: Warm Forming of Aluminium Alloys - Academic Exercise or Practical Opportunity?

Lubrication Studies on Automotive Applications

paper #555-9: Evaluation of Dry Film Lubricants for Automotive Applications- Part I- A General
Review
paper #630: Evaluation of Stamping Lubricants in Forming Galvannealed Steels in Industrial
Environment
paper #625: Evaluation of Die Coatings and Stamping Lubricants in forming of Galvanized AHSS
Using the SDT

Design Guidelines for Aluminum Alloys

paper #420-2,3: Design Rules for Forming Aluminium Stampings

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PAST AND ONGOING WORK

Ongoing work at USCAR
Warm forming forming at elevated temperature

Ford, GM and Chrysler work together on USCAR project AMD 905

Tools were heated initially but lack of insulation created problems.
Currently, blank is heated and then transferred to the press for forming.
Ongoing work at CPF/OSU
Objectives:
to determine material properties
to identify the best lubricants and surface condition (texture) to reduce friction.
to obtain the values of coefficient of friction (COF) for input to FE simulations
to identify design guidelines for designing stampings for Al alloys, i.e. minimum
corner radii, maximum thinning, etc.

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PAST AND ONGOING WORK

Ongoing work at CPF/OSU
Approach:

1.

State of the Art survey on both: (a) design guidelines and (b) forming process related
information.

2.

Mechanical properties of selected sheet materials:

a.

tensile test

b.

bulge or dome tests

3.

Lubrication tests

4.

Forming of real parts

a.

initially a round or rectangular cup at CPF

b.

later a real part or a part specifically designed to contain various forming

difficulties such as bending, radii, stretching, etc.

5.

Design Guidelines

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Questions & Contacts

Nimet Kardes Sever, (kardes.1@buckeyemail.osu.edu, 614-292-1785)
Dr. Taylan Altan, Director and Professor (altan.1@osu.edu, 614-292-5063)
Please visit www.cpforming.org and www.ercnsm.org for detailed information.

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