In this paper, a study based on experimental and numerical simulations is performed to analyze fatigue cracks in clinched joints. An experimental investigation is conducted to determine the failure modes of clinched joints under cyclic loading at different load amplitudes with single-lap shear tests. In addition, numerical FEM simulations of clinching process and subsequent shear loading are performed to support the experimental investigations by analyzing the state of stresses at the location of failure. An attempt is made to explain the location of crack initiation in the experiments using evaluation variables such as contact shear stress and maximum principal stress.
Abstract. The application of the mechanical joining process clinching allows the assembly of different sheet metal materials with a wide range of material thickness configurations, which is of interest for lightweight multi-material structures. In order to be able to predict the clinched joint properties as a function of the individual manufacturing steps, current studies focus on numerical modeling of the entire clinching process chain. It is essential to be able to take into account the influence of the joining process-induced damage on the load-bearing capacity of the joint during the loading phase. This study presents a numerical damage accumulation in the clinching process based on an implemented Hosford-Coulomb failure model using a 3D clinching process model applied on the aluminum alloy EN AW-6014 in temper T4. A correspondence of the experimentally determined failure location with the element of the highest numerically determined damage accumulation is shown. Moreover, the experimentally determined failure behavior is predicted to be in agreement in the numerical loading simulation with transferred pre-damage from the process simulation.
Clinching as a mechanical joining process has become established in many areas of car body. In order to predict relevant properties of clinched joints and to ensure the reliability of the process, it is numerically simulated during the product development process. The prediction accuracy of the simulated process depends on the implemented friction model. Therefore, a new method for determining friction coefficients in sheet metal materials was developed and tested. The aim of this study is the numerical investigation of this experimental method by means of FE simulation. The experimental setup is modelled in a 3D numerical simulation taking into account the process parameters varying in the experiment, such as geometric properties, contact pressure and contact velocity. Furthermore, the contact description of the model is calibrated via the experimentally determined friction coefficients according to clinch-relevant parameter space. It is shown that the assumptions made in the determination of the experimental data in preliminary work are valid. In addition, it is investigated to what extent the standard Coulomb friction model in the FEM can reproduce the results of the experimental method.
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