Modelling and Validation of Springback in Aluminium U-Profiles

Abstract

In the current climate of reducing carbon emissions, aluminium alloys have gained popularity for use in automotive structures and panels. However, an inherent problem with the higher strength aluminium alloys is the amount of springback that is observed on forming, and the relative difficulty of accurately predicting this phenomenon. One of the aims of the Premium Vehicle Lightweight Technology (PVLT) Centre of Excellence is to gain an understanding of the problem, and to enable the metal forming industry to better address it. This understanding should help manufactures to reduce scrap and re-work levels by enabling effective springback compensation at the design stage, and therefore make a cost saving. A set of tooling has been developed to assess the springback in the forming of a simple part, under different conditions. A combination of optical techniques has made it possible to produce a digital version of the tooling for simulation, and also to establish key metal forming characteristics. These techniques, combined with traditional characterisation methods, have been used to predict the springback in simple U-Profiles of several different alloys. These predictions have been compared with optical measurements taken of real samples, with the results showing good agreement.