Livan Fratini

Analysis of Material Formability in Incremental Forming

Abstract Incremental forming is an innovative sheet metal forming technology in which a blank is plastically deformed through the progressive action of a small-size punch, whose movement is governed by a CNC machine. In this way the tool locally deforms the material through an almost pure stretching deformation mechanics. The paper is focused on material formability in incremental forming. Several tests were developed, aimed to the achievement of different straining conditions in the material and consequently to the determination of Forming Limit Diagrams for progressive forming operations. The features and the application of such FLD are discussed in the paper.

Influence of mechanical properties of the sheet material on formability in single point incremental forming

Abstract New trends in sheet metal forming are rapidly developing and several new forming processes have been proposed to accomplish the goals of flexibility and cost reduction. Among them single point incremental forming operations, in which the final shape of the component is obtained by the relative movement of a simple and small punch with respect to the blank, appear quite promising. In the paper, material formability issues in incremental forming were studied. Some relevant correlations among material formability and other mechanical properties of the material were analysed. The FLD 0 value, i.e. the major strain at fracture in plane strain conditions, was determined for different materials and the influence of the main material parameters on formability was accurately investigated through a statistical analysis.

Material flow in FSW of AA7075-T6 butt joints: numerical simulations and experimental verifications

Abstract Friction stir welding (FSW) has reached a large interest in the scientific community and in the recent years also in the industrial environment, owing to the advantages of such solid state welding process with respect to the classic ones. Advanced finite element method tools are needed in order to develop an effective engineering of the processes; quantitative results can be acquired from numerical simulations once the basic information such as the material flow is certain. A 3D Lagrangian implicit coupled rigid viscoplastic model has already been developed by the authors to simulate FSW of butt joints. In the present paper the material flow in the FSW of AA7075–T6 butt joints is investigated on the varying of the most relevant technological and geometrical parameters with numerical simulations and experiments. In particular to investigate the metal flow a wide campaign of experimental tests and observations has been developed utilising a thin foil of copper as marker.

Friction stir welding of tailored blanks : Investigation on process feasibility

Tailor welded blanks (TWBs) are conventionally produced by laser or traditional welding processes. In either case, the joints are created by solid-liquid-solid phase transformations that result in undesirable microstructures and tensile residual stresses detrimental to joint performance. This study investigates feasibility of an alternate joining process, friction stir welding (FSW). The joining of AA7075-T6 blanks of different thickness is investigated through FE analyses and controlled experiments. It is found that for a successful joint, the welding parameters have to be carefully designed so that the resulting metal flow and the temperature history during FSW are consistent for the two thicknesses.

Material Flow in FSW of AA7075-T6 Butt Joints: Continuous Dynamic Recrystallization Phenomena

In the paper the continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) phenomena occurring in the FSW of AA7075-T6 butt joints is investigated at the varying of the most relevant technological and geometrical parameters. In particular, both experiments and numerical simulations obtained utilizing a 3D Lagrangian implicit, coupled, rigid-viscoplastic model have been developed on FSW butt joints. The resulting microstructure at the core of the weldings is correlated to the material flow occurring during the FSW process.

Developing Tele-Operated Laboratories for Manufacturing Engineering Education. Platform for E-Learning and Telemetric Experimentation (PeTEX)

The aim of the PeTEX-project is to establish an e-Learning platform for the development, implementation, and delivery of educational training programs in the field of manufacturing engineering. The PeTEX team designs both: a technical platform for eLearning based on â??Moodle

Computer aided engineering of the sheet bending process

Abstract The effects of the punch nose radius and sheet thickness on the elastic springback and residual stresses in the 90° V-punch and U-die bending process of AA 5083 aluminium alloy have been extensively studied by numerical simulations based on the finite element method. The results show that, irrespective of the sheet thickness and punch stroke, the springback ratio is not affected by the punch nose radius. Such results are in excellent agreement with the experimental ones obtained in similar conditions. As far as punch nose radius effects on the residual stresses are considered, significant differences were observed between residual stresses predicted with different nose radii. In particular, the shifting of the neutral layer and increase in the magnitude of the residual stresses predicted by the FEM code were found with decreasing punch nose radius.

Springback Evaluation in Fully 3-D Sheet Metal Forming Processes

Abstract In the modern manufacturing industries the knowledge and proper control of the sheet metal springback after forming is a fundamental aspect in the achievement of near net shape stamped parts. In this paper an effective springback prediction in some fully three-dimensional stamping processes is carried out. Such a prediction is based on a combined approach in which an explicit finite element code has been employed to simulate the forming phase while a traditional implicit procedure has been used to analyse the springback phase. The results obtained have been compared with a set of experimental tests and an excellent correlation between the predicted and experimental data has been found.

AA6082-T6 Friction Stir Welded Joints Fatigue Resistance: Influence of Process Parameters:

Abstract In the paper the results of a wide range of experiments on friction stir welding (FSW) of aluminium alloys are reported. In particular, the AA6082-T6 butt joints fatigue resistance was investigated by varying the most relevant process parameters. In addition, a revolutionary pitch was utilized in order to investigate the effects of the tool rotating speed and the tool feed rate. Observations of the fracture insurgence were developed for different levels of applied load.

Damage and fracture study of cold extrusion dies

Abstract In the present paper die fracture in cold extrusion was investigated considering a few different die reduction zone geometries. A former finite element method (FEM) analysis of the process was developed to obtain the contact pressure distribution at the workpiece–die interface for each of the investigated geometries; subsequently a stress and strain analysis utilizing the BEM code Franc3D was carried out, with the aim to evaluate the crack propagation at each loading cycle, i.e. at each extrusion process. In this way the die life for each of the investigated extrusion die geometries was compared utilizing the Paris law and the values assumed by the stress concentration coefficient for different crack dimensions. Furthermore the effectiveness of the application of an external ring to modify the die stress state during the process, was investigated.