FEM Analysis of Tube Preforming and Hydroforming Process for an Automotive Part

The tube hydroforming technology is used today in the mass production of lightweight components for the automotive industries due to its advantages over conventional stamping methods. A typical tube hydroforming process is usually a multiple forming operation process. The tube preforming and hydroforming process of an automobile subframe were analyzed by finite element method (FEM), and a parametric study was also carried out to obtain the effect of the forming parameters such as the die closing, the internal pressure and the axial feeding. The simulation results were also compared with industrial products in respect to the thickness distribution of some typical and key cross-sections. The study indicates that the internal pressure and the axial feeding should be set correctly and the multiple forming operations of tube hydroforming process can be simulated well by using the explicit code Ls-Dyna.

Effect of preforming on the formability of TRIP steel sheet forming processes

In this study,the formability of transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steel is studied during deep-drawing processes with preforming.The effects of preforming on theminimum thickness of can are investigated with a constitutive model accompanying strain-induced martensite transformation in prestrain condition.The constitutive model has been implemented into ABAQUS/UMAT for analysis of TRIP steel-forming processes.The results show that preforming slightly influences the thickness uniformity of TRIP steel in forming.

Effects of dispersoid preforming via multistep sintering of oxide dispersion-strengthened CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy

Dispersoid formation and microstructural evolution in an oxide dispersion-strengthened CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy(HEA)using a newly designed multistep sintering process are investigated.The proposed multistep sintering consists of a dispersoid preforming heat treatment of as-milled 0.1 wt%Y_(2)O_(3)-CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy powders at 800℃,followed by sintering at 800–1000℃ under uniaxial pressure.In the conventional single-step sintered bulk,the coarsened BCC Y_(2)O_(3)dispersoids mainly form with an incoherent interface with the HEA matrix.In contrast,finer FCC Y_(2)O_(3)dispersoids,an atypical form of Y_(2)O_(3),are formed in the matrix region after multistep sintering.Nucleation of FCC Y_(2)O_(3)disper-soids is initiated on the favorable facet,the{111}plane of the austenitic matrix,with the formation of a semi-coherent interface with the matrix during the dispersoid preforming heat treatment and it maintains its refined size even after sintering.It is found that dispersoid preforming prior to sintering appears promising to control the finer dispersoid formation and refined grain structure.

An efficient hyper-elastic model for the preforming simulation of Carbon-Kevlar hybrid woven reinforcement

An efficient hyper-elastic model that can reflect the primary mechanical behaviors of Carbon-Kevlar hybrid woven reinforcement was developed and implemented with VUMAT constitutive code for preforming simulation.The model parameters were accurately determined through the uniaxial and bias-extension tests.To calibrate the simulation code,preforming experiments of hybrid woven reinforcement over the hemisphere mold and tetrahedron mold were respectively conducted to validate the proposed hyper-elastic model.The comparison between the simulations and experiments shows that the model can not only accurately capture shear angle distribution and geometry shape after deformation,but also accurately predict the force–displacement curve and potential fiber tensile failure during the preforming process.This result indicates that the proposed model can be used to predict the preforming behavior of Carbon-Kevlar hybrid woven reinforcement,and simulate its manufacturing process of complicated geometry.

Fluxless bonding with silver nanowires aerogel in die-attached interconnection

The electronic product has gravitated towards component miniaturization and integration, employment of lead-free materials, and low-temperature soldering processes. Noble-metal aerogels have drawn increasing attention for high conduction and low density. However,the noble metal aerogels with outstanding solderability were rarely studied. This work has successfully synthesized an aerogel derived from silver nanowires(AgNWs) using a liquid phase reduction method. It is found that the noble metal aerogels can be made into diverse aerogel preformed soldering sheets. The influence of bonding temperature(150-300 ℃), time(2-20 min), and pressure(5-20 MPa) on the joint strength of the AgNWs aerogel affixed to electroless nickel/silver copper plates were investigated. Additionally, the AgNWs aerogel displays almost the same shear strength for substrates of various sizes. In a word, this study presents a flux-free, high-strength, and adaptable soldering structural material.

An Overview of 3D Thin Shell Textile Preforms

The automobiles, aircraft, and lightweight industries continuously demand thin near-net-shape preforms just out-of-machine as close to the final shape. This study addresses the possibilities of 3D thin shell textile preform as the solution of lightweight reinforcement in various applications. Investigation into the development of 3D thin shells has led to different manufacturing processes. However, 3D thin shell preforms are mostly made by weaving and knitting, but nonwoven, winding, and/or layup techniques have been reported for over a decade. Owing to the complex thin shell manufacturing processes, they are not similar to the conventional methods. The different 3D thin shell preforms can extend the opportunities for new applications in various technical fields. This study presents existing research gaps and a few potential issues to be solved regarding 3D thin shell preforms in the near future.

An Overview of 3D Thin Shell Textile Preforms

The automobiles, aircraft, and lightweight industries continuously demand thin near-net-shape preforms just out-of-machine as close to the final shape. This study addresses the possibilities of 3D thin shell textile preform as the solution of lightweight reinforcement in various applications. Investigation into the development of 3D thin shells has led to different manufacturing processes. However, 3D thin shell preforms are mostly made by weaving and knitting, but nonwoven, winding, and/or layup techniques have been reported for over a decade. Owing to the complex thin shell manufacturing processes, they are not similar to the conventional methods. The different 3D thin shell preforms can extend the opportunities for new applications in various technical fields. This study presents existing research gaps and a few potential issues to be solved regarding 3D thin shell preforms in the near future.

Bending properties and fracture mechanism of C/C composites with high density preform

C/C composites with banded structure pyrocarbon were fabricated by fast chemical vapor infiltration（CVI）,with C3H6 as carbon source,N2 as carrier gas,and three-dimensional（3D） 12K PAN-based carbon fabric with high density of 0.94 g/cm3 as preform.Experimental results indicated that the fracture characteristics of C/C composites were closely related to the frequency of high-temperature treatment（HTT） at the break of CVI process.According to the load？displacement curves,C/C composites showed a pseudoplastic fracture after twice of HTT.After three times of HTT,load？displacement curves tended to be stable with a decreasing bending strength at 177.5 MPa.Delamination failure and intrastratal fiber fracture were observed at the cross-section of C/C composites by scanning electronic microscope.Because the content of pyrocarbon and fibers has a different distribution in layers,the C/C composites show different fracture characteristics at various regions,which leads to good toughness and bending strength.

Simulation and Experimental Study on a New Successive Forming Process for Large Modulus Gears

A successive tooth forming process for producing large modulus spur gears(m>2.5 mm)is firstly proposed in this paper to break the restrictions of large forming load and large equipment structure of traditional plastic forming.It contains the preforming stage and the finishing stage.In the first stage,the die with a single-tooth preforms gear teeth one by one through several passes.In the second stage,the other die with multi-teeth refines the preformed teeth into required shape.The influence of total pressing depth and feed distribution in preforming stage on final forming quality is analyzed by numerical simulation,and the reasonable process parameters are presented.Successive tooth forming experiments are carried out on the self-designed gear forming device to verify the optimal simulation results.Gears without fold defects are well formed both in simulations and experiments,proving the feasibility of this method.Compared with the whole die forging process,the new technology has advantages of smaller load and simpler tooling,which shows a good potential for manufacturing large modulus and large size spur gears.

Design of hydroforming process for an automobile subframe by FEM and experiment

Tube hydroforming technology has shown the attention of the automotive industry due to its advantages over conventional stamping and welding methods.In this study,the tube hydroforming process including tube bending,preforming and hydroforming process for an automobile subframe is analyzed and designed by the simulation software AutoForm of a finite element method (FEM) program.A parametric study is carried out to obtain the effect of the forming parameters such as initial tube size and loading path on the forming results.The simulation results are also compared with experiment results.The research indicates that the multiple forming operation of the tube hydroforming process can be simulated accurately by using the implicit code AutoForm,and the formability of tube hydroforming can be improved by designing suitable forming parameters.

Sensitivity Analysis Based Multiple Objective Preform Die Shape Optimal Design in Metal Forging

The multiple objective preform design optimization was put forward. The final forging＇s shape and deformation uniformity were considered in the multiple objective. The objective is to optimize the shape and the deformation uniformity of the final forging at the same time so that a more high integrate quality of the final forging can be obtained. The total objective was assembled by the shape and uniformity objective using the weight adding method. The preform die shape is presented by cubic B-spline curves. The control points of B-spline curves are used as the design variables. The forms of the total objective function, shape and uniformity sub-objective function are given. The sensitivities of the total objective function and the sub-objective functions with respect to the design variables are developed. Using this method, the preform die shape of an H-shaped forging process is optimally designed. The optimization results are very satisfactory.

Die sinter bonding in air using copper formate preform for formation of full-density bondline

Pressure-assisted sinter bonding was performed in air at 250−350℃ using a preform comprising copper formate particles to form a bondline that is sustainable at high temperatures.H2 and CO generated concurrently by the pyrolysis of copper formate at 210℃ during the sinter bonding removed the native oxide and other oxides grown on bulk Cu finishes,enabling interface bonding.Moreover,Cu produced in situ by the reduction of Cu(II)accelerated the sinter bonding.Consequently,the bonding achieved at 300−350℃ under 5 MPa exhibited sufficient shear strength of 20.0−31.5 MPa after 180−300 min of sinter bonding.In addition,an increase in pressure to 10 MPa resulted in shear strength of 21.9 MPa after an extremely short time of 30 s at 250℃,and a near-full-density bondline was achieved after 300 s.The obtained results indicate the promising potential of the preform comprising copper formate particles for high-speed sinter bonding.

Filling Simulation of Three-dimension Braided Composite in Resin Transfer Molding

This paper measured permeability of three-dimension braided preform by radial technology. The results show that principal permeability tensor coincided with their braiding axial direction. The software of one dimensional flow filling mold was designed using Visual C++ language. Filling time is predicted and validated. The result showed that the filling time of the mold centerline agrees with the prediction value. The filling time of the mould edge is shorter than that of the prediction. An actual plate of 3D braided preform/ modified polyarylacetylene composite is produced according to prediction value and validation analysis.

Insight into the preformed albumin corona on in vitro and in vivo performances of albumin-selective nanoparticles

Preformed albumin corona of albumin-nonselective nanoparticles(NPs)is widely exploited to inhibit the unavoidable protein adsorption upon intravenous administration.However,very few studies have concerned the preformed albumin corona of albumin-selective NPs.Herein,we report a novel type of albumin-selective NPs by decorating 6-maleimidocaproyl polyethylene glycol stearate(SA)onto PLGA NPs(SP NPs)surface,taking albuminnonselective PLGA NPs as control.PLGA NPs and SP NPs were prepared by emulsion-solvent evaporation method and the resultant NPs were in spherical shape with an average diameter around 180 nm.The corresponding albumin-coating PLGA NPs(PLGA@BSA NPs)and albumin-coating SP NPs(SP@BSA NPs)were formulated by incubating SP NPs or PLGA NPs with bovine serum albumin solution,respectively.The impact of albumin corona on particle characteristics,stability,photothermal effect,cytotoxicity,cell uptake,spheroid penetration and pharmacokinetics was investigated.In line with previous findings of preformed albumin coating,PLGA@BSA NPs exhibited higher stability,cytotoxicity,cell internalization and spheroid penetration performances in vitro,and longer blood circulation time in vivo than those of albumin-nonselective PLGA NPs,but albumin-selective SP NPs is capable of achieving a comparable in vitro and in vivo performances with both SP@BSA NPs and PLGA@BSA NPs.Our results demonstrate that SA decorated albumin-selective NPs pave a versatile avenue for optimizing nanoparticulate delivery without preformed albumin corona.

Optimal Preform Die Design through Controlling Deformation Uniformity in Metal Forging

A finite element based sensitivity analysis method for preform die shape design in metal forging is developed. The optimization goal is to obtain more uniform deformation within the final forging by controlling the deformation uniformity. The objective function expressed by the effective strain is constructed. The sensitivity equations of the objective function, elemental volume, elemental effective strain rate and the elemental strain rate with respect to the design variables are constituted. The preform die shapes of an H-shaped forging process in axisymmetric deformation are designed using this method.

Infiltration of A6063 aluminium alloy into SiC-B_4C hybrid preforms using vacuum assisted block mould investment casting technique

Production of A6063/SiC-B4C hybrid composite using vacuum assisted block mould investment casting was investigated. Firstly,SiC-B4C hybrid preforms were fabricated in cylindrical shape.The preferred mean particle size of the SiC and B4C powders were 60μm and 55μm respectively.In early experiments,single powder ratio of 85%SiC and 15%B4C was selected to produce the tough preforms.Subsequently,the preforms were placed into the cylindrical shape gypsum bonded block investment moulds and A6063 alloy was infiltrated into the preforms using vacuum assisted（-10 5 Pa）casting machine.Porosity fraction of preforms was determined using Archimedes’test.The fabricated cast specimens were characterized using hardness tests,image analysis and SEM observations and EDX analysis.The result indicates that,by the vacuum assisted block mould investment casting technique,the infiltration of the preforms by molten metal was successfully realized.

Effect of Mg and Si on infiltration behavior of Al alloys pressureless infiltration into porous SiCp preforms

The effect of Mg and Si additon to Al matrix on infiltration kinetics and rates of Al alloys pressureless infiltration into porous SiCp preform was investigated by observing the change of infiltration distance with time as the Al alloys infiltrate into SiCp preforms at different temperatures.The results show that infiltration of SiCp preforms by Al melt is a thermal activation process and there is an incubation period before the infiltration becomes stable.With the increase of Mg content in the Al alloys from 0wt% to 8wt%,the infiltration will become much easier,the incubation period becomes shorter and the infiltration rate is faster,but these effects are not obvious when the Mg content is higher than 8wt%.As for Si addition to the Al alloys,it has no obvious effect on the incubation period,but the infiltration rate increases markedly with the increase of Si content from 0wt% to 12wt% and the rate has no obvious change when the content is bigger than 12wt%.The effect of Mg and Si on the incubation period is related to the infiltration mechanism of Al pressureless infiltration into SiCp preforms and their impact on the infiltration rate is a combined result from viscosity and surface tension of Al melt and SiC-Al wetting ability.

A Numerical Study of Densification Behavior of Silicon Carbide Matrix Composites in Isothermal Chemical Vapor Infiltration

We studied the characteristics of two-scale pore structure of preform in the deposition process and the mass transfer of reactant gas in dual-scale pores, and observed the physiochemical phenomenon associated with the reaction. Thereby, we established mathematical models on two scales, respectively, preform and reactor. These models were used for the numerical simulation of the process of ceramic matrix composites densified by isothermal chemical vapor infiltration(ICVI). The models were used to carry out a systematic study on the influence of process conditions and the preform structure on the densification behaviors. The most important findings of our study are that the processing time could be reduced by about 50% without compromising the quality of the material, if the processing temperature is 950-1 000 ℃ for the first 70 hours and then raised to 1 100 ℃.

Surface composites fabricated by vacuum infiltration casting technique

Alumina （Al2O3） particles reinforced copper matrix surface composites were fabricated on the bronze substrate using the vacuum infiltration casting technique. Three cases were obtained in the vacuum infiltration casting technique： no infiltration, partial infiltration and full infiltration （the thickness of preforms do not exceed 3.5mm）. The reason of no infiltration is that the vacuum degree is not enough so that the force acting on the liquid metal is lower than the resistance due to the surface tension. Partial infiltration is because of somewhat lower vacuum degree and pouring temperature. Full desired infiltration is on account of suitable infiltration casting conditions, such as vacuum degree, pouring temperature, grain size and preheating temperature of the preform. The most important factor of affecting formation of surface composites is the vacuum degree, then pouring temperature and particle size. The infiltration mechanism was discussed on the bases of different processing conditions. The surface composite up to 3.5 mm in thickness with uniformly distributed Al2O3 particles could be fabricated via the vacuum infiltration casting technique.

X-ray Computed Tomography Characterization of 3D Tufted Twill Textile Composite for Aerostructures

Damage assessments in three dimensional (3D) textile composites subjected to mechanical loading can be performed by non-destructive and destructive techniques.This paper applies the two techniques to investigate the fracture behavior of 3D tufted textile composites.X-ray computed tomography as a non-destructive evaluation method is appropriate to detect damage locations and identify their progression in 3D textile composites.Destructive methods such as sectioning toward observing damage provide valuable information about damage patterns.The results of this research could be utilized to evaluate the initial cause of rupture in 3D tufted composites used in aerospace structures and analyze fracture modes and damage progression.