<jats:p> In this study, an innovative friction model is used to improve the quality of clinching process simulations. Consequently, the future over dimensioning can be reduced. Furthermore, the improved prediction quality of the joining process simulation leads to an improvement in the simulation of load-bearing capacity as well. In this way, the entire sampling process can be performed virtually without any experimental investigations. This will contribute to the advancement of lightweight construction in the automotive industry. In this work, the frictional behavior is studied in dependence on the local joining process parameters. As a reference for the numerical investigations, clinch joints by means of a die with fixed geometry are joined. Additionally, a hardness mapping is performed on the microsection of the clinch joints. It shows the local strain hardening, which correlates with the forming degree in the simulation. Based on the occurring contacts and the local joining process parameters in the joining process simulation, the test matrix for the experimental friction tests is defined. The friction tests are carried out on a compression-torsion-tribometer. This type of tribometer is able to apply high interface pressures above the initial yield stress due to the specimen encapsulation. Besides, the pure joining part contact, the contact between the joining part and joining tool can be tested as well. The experimental test setup offers the possibility to evaluate the influences of temperature, relative velocity, interface pressure, and frictional stroke independently. Based on the results of the experimental friction tests, a friction model is created. The resulting friction model is integrated into the numerical joining process simulation via a subroutine. To validate the quality of the new friction modeling, the results of simulations are compared with the experiments in terms of load-stroke diagrams, joint geometry, and hardness mappings on the microsection. </jats:p>

Lightweight design is an effective lever for achieving fuel consumption and emission-oriented goals. Therefore micro-alloyed steels and high-strength aluminium materials are included in the multi-material mix of the car body. In this context self-pierce riveting has become established for joining in body-in-white production. For the dimensioning of the joint, numerical simulation is increasingly being used. In order to make reliable predictions about joint quality, knowledge of the friction in the joining process is necessary and needs to be identified experimentally. In previous investigations, the process parameters in the friction test were not comparable to the joining process. Therefore, a new friction test method is presented in this paper, where the process conditions are comparable between joining and friction testing especially regarding the interface pressure. The local joining process parameters between rivet and sheet are derived numerically. In the framework of the investigations, the influences of the local joining process parameters, like interface pressure, relative velocity and temperature, on the friction are investigated and mapped close to the joining process. Additionally a comparison of different rivet coatings is carried out. The rivet contact to the sheet metal HX340LAD as well with aluminium EN AW-5182 is taken into account.

The presented paper aims to characterize the damage and fracture behavior of HX340LAD Micro-Alloyed steels using small punch test. Variations with respect to punch geometries and cutting clearance are made to describe the damage behavior of the material under different loading conditions. Experimental investigations are conducted to identify the crack initiation in the specimens. Furthermore, the numerical FEM simulations are performed to identify the stress state at crack initiation. It is shown that different stress states from shear to biaxial tension can be achieved by changing the geometries of punch and varying the cutting clearance. Moreover, it is presented how changing the configurations can influence the stress state variables: Triaxiality and lode angle parameter.

The process chain for the manufacturing of sheet metal components in mass production includes various cutting and forming operations, which influence the resulting properties of the parts and therefore subsequent manufacturing steps, such as clamping and joining. It is shown that clamping of the components leads to superimposed residual stresses and geometry changes. Therefore, the part properties differ from the initial state of the semifinished products, which has to be considered in the design of clinched joints. This paper presents an approach for coupled determination of the properties of semifinished and finished parts during deep drawing and clamping as well as their effects on the joint quality during clinching. One method for the effective and efficient determination of the properties of semifinished products and components during production is using process data from the preceding manufacturing processes, which is concretely presented in this work. In addition to the interconnection of the entire production chain, it is necessary to define relevant process data for each individual manufacturing step and to correlate the data with the material properties reliably. Therefore, the cross-process interactions of different steps of the process chain for the manufacturing of sheet metal components and the effect of process variations on subsequent manufacturing steps are investigated. Consequently, the boundary conditions for a mechanical joining process based on data from preceding process steps can be predicted.

Since the application of mechanical joining methods, such as clinching or riveting, offers a robust solution for the generation of advanced multi-material connections, the use in the field of lightweight designs (e.g. automotive industry) is steadily increasing. Therefore, not only the design of an individual joint is required but also the dimensioning of the entire joining connection is crucial. However, in comparison to thermal joining techniques, such as spot welding, the evaluation of the joints’ resistance against defined requirements (e.g. types of load, minimal amount of load cycles) mainly relies on the consideration of expert knowledge, a few design principles and a small amount of experimental data. Since this generally implies the involvement of several domains, such as the material characterization or the part design, a tremendous amount of data and knowledge is separately generated for a certain dimensioning process. Nevertheless, the lack of formalization and standardization in representing the gained knowledge leads to a difficult and inconsistent reuse, sharing or searching of already existing information. Thus, this contribution presents a specific ontology for the provision of cross-domain knowledge about mechanical joining processes and highlights two potential use cases of this ontology in the design of clinched and pin joints.</jats:p>

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>In this paper, a study based on experimental and numerical simulations is performed to analyze fatigue cracks in clinched joints. An experimental investigation is conducted to determine the failure modes of clinched joints under cyclic loading at different load amplitudes with single-lap shear tests. In addition, numerical FEM simulations of clinching process and subsequent shear loading are performed to support the experimental investigations by analyzing the state of stresses at the location of failure. An attempt is made to explain the location of crack initiation in the experiments using evaluation variables such as contact shear stress and maximum principal stress.</jats:p>

Mechanical joining technologies are increasingly used in multi-material lightweight constructions and offer opportunities to create versatile joining processes due to their low heat input, robustness to metallurgical incompatibilities and various process variants. They can be categorised into technologies which require an auxiliary joining element, or do not require an auxiliary joining element. A typical example for a mechanical joining process with auxiliary joining element is self-piercing riveting. A wide range of processes exist which are not requiring an auxiliary joining element. This allows both point-shaped (e.g., by clinching) and line-shaped (e.g., friction stir welding) joints to be produced. In order to achieve versatile processes, challenges exist in particular in the creation of intervention possibilities in the process and the understanding and handling of materials that are difficult to join, such as fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) or high-strength metals. In addition, predictive capability is required, which in particular requires accurate process simulation. Finally, the processes must be measured non-destructively in order to generate control variables in the process or to investigate the cause-effect relationship. This paper covers the state of the art in scientific research concerning mechanical joining and discusses future challenges on the way to versatile mechanical joining processes.

In this paper, a study based on experimental and numerical simulations is performed to analyze fatigue cracks in clinched joints. An experimental investigation is conducted to determine the failure modes of clinched joints under cyclic loading at different load amplitudes with single-lap shear tests. In addition, numerical FEM simulations of clinching process and subsequent shear loading are performed to support the experimental investigations by analyzing the state of stresses at the location of failure. An attempt is made to explain the location of crack initiation in the experiments using evaluation variables such as contact shear stress and maximum principal stress.

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The components of a body in white consist of many individual thin-walled sheet metal parts, which usually are manufactured in deep-drawing processes. In general, the conditions in a deep-drawing process change due to changing tribology conditions, varying degrees of spring back, or scattering material properties in the sheet blanks, which affects the resulting pre-strain. Mechanical joining processes, especially clinching, are influenced by these process-related pre-strains. The final geometric shape of a clinched joint is affected to a significant level by the prior material deformation when joining with constant process parameters. That leads to a change in the stiffness and force transmission in the clinched joint due to the different geometric dimensions, such as interlock, neck thickness and bottom thickness, which directly affect the load bearing capacity. Here, the influence of the pre-straining in the deep drawing process on the force distribution in clinch points in an automotive assembly is investigated by finite-element models numerically. In further studies, the results are implemented in an optimization tool for designing clinched components. The methodology starts with a pre-straining of metal sheets. This step is followed by 2D rotationally symmetric forming simulations of the joining process. The resulting mesh of each forming simulation is rotated and 3D models are obtained. The clinched joint solid model with pre-strains is used further to determine the joint stiffnesses. With the simulation of the same test set-up with an equivalent point-connector model, the equivalent stiffness for each pre-strain combination is determined. Simulations are performed on a clinched component to assess the influence of pre-strain and sheet thinning on the clinched joint loadings by using the equivalent stiffnesses. The investigations clearly show that for the selected component, the loadings at the clinch points are dependent on the sheet thinning and the stiffnesses due to pre-strain. The magnitude of the influence varies depending on the quantity considered. For example, the shear force is more sensitive to the joint stiffness than to the sheet thinning.</jats:p>

<jats:p> Clinching as a mechanical joining process has become established in many areas of car body. In order to predict relevant properties of clinched joints and to ensure the reliability of the process, it is numerically simulated during the product development process. The prediction accuracy of the simulated process depends on the implemented friction model. Therefore, a new method for determining friction coefficients in sheet metal materials was developed and tested. The aim of this study is the numerical investigation of this experimental method by means of FE simulation. The experimental setup is modelled in a 3D numerical simulation taking into account the process parameters varying in the experiment, such as geometric properties, contact pressure and contact velocity. Furthermore, the contact description of the model is calibrated via the experimentally determined friction coefficients according to clinch-relevant parameter space. It is shown that the assumptions made in the determination of the experimental data in preliminary work are valid. In addition, it is investigated to what extent the standard Coulomb friction model in the FEM can reproduce the results of the experimental method. </jats:p>

Background. Clinching is a conventional cold forming process in which two or more sheets can be joined without auxiliary parts. A pre-forming of the parts to be joined, which is introduced by previous manufacturing steps, has an influence on the joining result. When considering the suitability for joining with regard to the formability of the materials, the influence of the preforming steps must be taken into account. The influences of strain hardening and sheet thickness on the joining properties must be investigated. In this context, a Finite Element Method (FEM) based metamodel analysis of the clinching process was carried out in [1] to investigate the robustness of the clinching process with respect to the different material pre-strains. In [2], the method was extended to the load bearing simulation.Procedure. The metamodel from preliminary work based on various FE models, which predicts the load-bearing capacity of a clinched joint influenced by pre-straining, is compared here with experimental data and the accuracy of the metamodel prediction is discussed. For this purpose an experimental procedure was further develop which allows the preforming of metal sheets from which joining specimens can be separated with a certain degree of unidirectional deformation. In the study, the procedure for preparing the joint specimens and the results of the loading tests are presented. Different possible relevant pre-strain combinations are investigated and compared with the simulation results, to validate the FE models and choose suitable metamodel.</jats:p>

AlSi casting alloys combine excellent castability with high strength. Hence, this group of alloys is often used in the automotive sector. The challenge for this application is the brittle character of these alloys which leads to cracks during joint formation when mechanical joining technologies are used. A rise in ductility can be achieved by a considerable increase in the solidification rate which results in grain refinement. High solidification rates can be realized in twin–roll casting (TRC) by water-cooled rolls. Therefore, a hypoeutectic EN AC–AlSi9 (for European Norm - aluminum cast product) is manufactured by the TRC process and analyzed. Subsequently, joining investigations are performed on castings in as-cast and heat-treated condition using the self-piercing riveting process considering the joint formation and the load-bearing capacity. Due to the fine microstructure, the crack initiation can be avoided during joining, while maintaining the joining parameters, especially by specimens in heat treatment conditions. Furthermore, due to the extremely fine microstructure, the load-bearing capacity of the joint can be significantly increased in terms of the maximum load-bearing force and the energy absorbed.

<jats:p> Owing to the implementation of multi-material construction methods in modern lightweight construction and the associated use of adhesive bonding technology, thermally induced relative displacements of the joining partners occur during the curing process. The resulting extremely complex thermo-chemo-mechanical stresses can influence the properties of the adhesive layers and reduce the load-bearing capacity. In this study, experiments are conducted to examine the influence of process-related thermal relative displacements on the mechanical properties of adhesives. The results show an anisotropy of the mechanical properties of the pre-deformed adhesive layers, depending on the magnitude and direction of the relative displacement. </jats:p>

<jats:p>Many mechanical material properties show a dependence on the strain rate, e.g. yield stress or elongation at fracture. The quantitative description of the material behavior under dynamic loading is of major importance for the evaluation of crash safety. This is carried out using numerical methods and requires characteristic values for the materials used. For the standardized determination of dynamic characteristic values in sheet metal materials, tensile tests performed according to the guideline from [1]. A particular challenge in dynamic tensile tests is the force measurement during the test. For this purpose, strain gauges are attached on each specimen, wired to the measuring equipment and calibrated. This is a common way to determine a force signal that is as low in vibration and as free of bending moments as possible. The preparation effort for the used strain gauges are enormous. For these reasons, an optical method to determine the force by strain measurement using DIC is presented. The experiments are carried out on a high speed tensile testing system. In combioantion with a 3D DIC high speed system for optical strain measurement. The elastic deformation of the specimen in the dynamometric section is measured using strain gauges and the optical method. The measured signals are then compared to validate the presented method. The investigations are conducted using the dual phase steel material HCT590X and the aluminum material EN AW-6014 T4. Strain rates of up to 240 s-1 are investigated.</jats:p>

<jats:p> In many manufacturing areas, multi-material designs are implemented in which individual components are joined together to form complex structures with numerous joints. For example, in the automotive sector, cast components are used at the junctions of the body and joined with different types of sheet metal and extruded profiles. To be able to join structures consisting of different materials, alternative joining technologies have emerged in recent years. This includes clinching, which allows assembling of two or more thin sheet metal and casting parts by solely cold forming the material. Clinching the brittle and usually less ductile cast aluminium alloys remains a challenge because the brittle character of the cast aluminium alloys can cause cracks during the forming of the clinched joint. In this study, the influence of the heat treatment time of an aluminium casting alloy AlSi9 on the joinability in the clinching process is investigated. Specific heat treatment of the naturally hard AlSi9 leads to a modification of the eutectic microstructure, which can increase ductility. Based on this, it will be examined if specific clinching die geometries can be used, which achieve an optimized geometrical formation of the clinched joint. The load-bearing capacities of the clinched joints are determined and compared by shear tensile and head tensile tests. Furthermore, the joints are examined microscopically to investigate the influence of the heat treatment on the failure behaviour during the load-bearing tests as well as crack initiation within the joining process. </jats:p>

The number of multi-material joints is increasing as a result of lightweight design. Self-piercing riveting (SPR) is an important mechanical joining technique for multi-material structures. Rivets for SPR are coated to prevent corrosion, but this coating also influences the friction that prevails during the joining process. The aim of the present investigation is to evaluate this influence. The investigation focuses on the common rivet coatings Almac® and zinc-nickel with topcoat as well as on uncoated rivet surfaces. First of all, the coating thickness and the uniformity of the coating distribution are analysed. Friction tests facilitate the classification of the surface properties. The influence of the friction on the characteristic joint parameters and the force-stroke curves is analysed by means of experimental joining tests. More in-depth knowledge of the effects that occur is achieved through the use of numerical simulation. Overall, it is shown that the surface condition of the rivet has an impact on the friction during the joining process and on the resulting joint. However, the detected deviations between different surface conditions do not restrict the operational capability of SPR and the properties of uncoated rivet surfaces, in particular, are similar to those of Almac®-coated rivets. It can thus be assumed that SPR with respect to the joining process is also possible without rivet coating in principle.

<jats:p>Three-dimensional modelling enables to determine the in-plane material flow in asymmetrical situation. Thus, the distortion of the sheets to be joined can be characterized more exactly. This study shows a method for building up a three-dimensional shear-clinching framework without damage criteria. In fact, the die-sided sheet in shear-clinching was designed as a pre-punched sheet and slugs. The material separation in the die-sided joining partner, which in two-dimensional simulation is often described by macro- and micromechanical fracture criteria, was realised in this study based on a defined contact condition. By means of a shear-cutting simulation, a correlation between the break angle and the separation stress was determined, which was used as a separation criterion in the shear-clinching simulation. The separation line was confirmed using post-particles. To validate this model, the results of the simulation using a quadratic single-point specimen were compared to the experiments with respect to the distortion of the joining partner. In general, the built three-dimensional framework provides for further tool developments with regard to the reduction of distortion in shear-clinching.</jats:p>