Aluminium and magnesium castings ? experimental work and numerical analyses

Abstract

Abstract The long-term objective of this work is to develop design and modelling tools that allow the structural behaviour of thin-walled cast components to be predicted when subjected to static and dynamic loads such as in crash situations. The approach consists of the following ingredients: casting of generic geometry relevant for automotive design, component and materials testing, constitutive modelling and validation simulations using the finite element method. Here, HPDC components of both AM60 and AlSi7Mg have been subjected to axial crushing and 3-point bending. An existing elastoplastic constitutive equation has been calibrated and evaluated based on material tests. Next, validation analyses of the generic structural components subjected to static loading were performed. The thin-walled cast components are modelled in the explicit FE-code LS-DYNA using shell elements. So far, it has been found that an elastoplastic material model based on the isotropic yield criterion of von Mises reasonably well captures the behaviour of HPDC components subject to both axial loading and 3-point bending. In addition, the ultimate loads in the different load cases are over-predicted analytically with the use of Eurocode 9 (EC9).