Numerical/experimental investigations about the warm hydroforming of an aluminum alloy component

The present work investigates the Hydro Forming process in warm conditions using a numerical/experimental approach; an Al alloy (AA6061 T6) component is used as case study. Experimental tests were carried out for characterizing the material and setting the numerical model. A preliminary experimental step based on both tensile and formability tests allowed to characterize both the mechanical and deformative characteristics of the material according to temperature, orientation and strain rate. Finite Element simulations using ABAQUS/explicit were carried out changing (according to a simulations plan created using the Design of Experiment approach) the process parameters which mostly affect the HF process in warm conditions: the forming pressure, both the initial and final Blank Holder pressure and the Temperature (oil pressure and Blank Holder pressure were related to the material yielding strength). The contour plots of an ad hoc response parameter (LN), able to take into account both the risk of rupture and the level of deformation, allowed to evaluate the regions where process parameters guarantee the optimal working conditions