Parametric study on mechanical clinching process for joining aluminum alloy and high-strength steel sheets

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of process parameters on the joint characteristics of advanced high-strength steel DP780 and Al5052 alloy sheet in mechanical clinching process. The defects in the clinching joint, such as necking of the upper sheet, cracks in the lower sheet, and no interlocking, occur because of the different ductility between advanced high-strength steel and aluminum alloy. In this study, the effect of the process parameters of the clinching process on the joinability of advanced high-strength steel with Al5052 alloy was investigated using finite element (FE) analysis. From the result, the die radius, die depth, and die groove shape were mainly affected by the joinability of advanced high-strength steel with Al5052 alloy. H-type tension test was performed under the same condition as the FE analysis. In addition, the joint strength was determined by interlocking length as well as neck thickness.

Specimen's Geometry Related Influences on Load-Bearing Capacity of Joining Aluminium and UHSS by Innovative Shear-Clinching

“…Similarly was stated in (Abe et al, 2008), but mainly referred to the tensile strength. Quality and strength of mechanical clinched joints are defined by the material properties of the joining partners (Lee, 2010). How to control the joining process of die-sided UHSS with tensile strength at 980 MPa and ductile aluminium by using adapted die-sided toolsets is documented in (Abe et al, 2012).…”

“…The damage behaviour of the joints is determined according to DIN EN ISO 12996. Depending on the load direction, main modes of failure are neck fracture and unbutton (Lee et al, 2010). Figure 4.…”

FSW of aluminum AA5754 to steel DX54 with innovative overlap joint

“…The main difficulty in the manufacturing of car body structures with dissimilar materials is the joining of these two materials, mainly due to the differences in physical and chemical properties as stated by Kenevisi and Khoie [1]. Mechanical joining methods, such as clinching, riveting, and bolt joining, are well established in many car manufacturing companies for joining dissimilar materials [2,3]. Nonetheless, the interlocking effectiveness of these mechanical joining methods is limited by either materials anisotropy or stress concentration at the joining zone.…”

Joining three car body steel sheets by clinching method

“…Combination of steel and aluminium was studied in [8], where influence of pre-strain of materials on the joint quality was observed. Means of FE analysis were used for evaluation of the joinability of materials combination of aluminium alloy and high-strength steel sheet [9]. Clinch joints are frequently utilized in automotive sub-assemblies [10], building components [11], even in electrical industries.…”