Finite element analysis to optimize forming conditions for lower control arm
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safety of an automobile’s suspension is crucial because it plays an important role in the vehicle’s stability and handling performance. Yet recent demands to minimize the overall vehicle weight, while maintaining a high quality, have focused on reducing the weight of the suspension parts (e.g., the lower arm). Replacing the present steel sheet with a high-strength steel sheet or aluminum casting can generally reduce the weight of the lower arm. However, aluminum casting for lower arms means high manufacturing costs. In contrast, the use of hightensile-strength steel sheet has the advantage of applying current press-forming technology. Nonetheless, lack of sufficient data on the press-forming characteristics and formability of lower arms made from a high-strength steel sheet means that press-forming failures, such as fractures and wrinkling, are frequently experienced. Thus, for the safe press forming of lower arms from a high-strength steel sheet without failures, the deformation characteristics of the press forming need to be investigated, along with the optimization of the process and material variables involved in the press forming. Optimizing the press-forming conditions of a lower arm using the traditional trial-and-error technique would require tremendous effort, time, and expense. Plus, due to the limitations of the arbitrary assignment of the process and material variables in real press experiments, numeric virtual tests with properly designed variables are invariably referred to. In contrast, the finite element method (FEM), which includes robust calculation procedures and extensive verification of results, would appear to be better suited for this purpose.[1,2] As a result of significant advances in the simulation of sheet YOUNGSUK KIM and SEUNGHAN YANG, Professors, are with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 702-701, South Korea. Contact e-mail: [email protected] HYUNSUNG SOHN, Researcher, is with the Pohang Iron and Steel Company, Pohang 702-701, South Korea. JUNYOUNG PARK, Designated Researcher, is with the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Systems, Osaka University, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. SEOGOU CHOI, Principal Researcher, is with Incheon Research Center, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Inchon 463-130, South Korea. Manuscript submitted April 8, 2002. METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A
metal forming processes using FEM, realistic analyses of sheet metal forming operations are now possible that also take into account the process and material variables. Accordingly, this study investigates the deformation characteristics of the press forming of lower arms using the commercially available 3D stamping simulation FEM code, namely the explicit dynamic code PAM-STAMP version 2.1.[3] In addition, Taguchi’s orthogonal array experiments[4,5] are combined with the FEM simulations to quantify and optimize the main variables affecting the forming quality of a lower arm. Three design variables— the friction coefficient, plastic anisotropy parameter, and
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