Numerical simulation analysis of the temperature field in induction heating-assisted flow drilling of the 7075 aluminum alloy

Abstract

Flow drill riveting (FDR) is a unique method designed for the joining of disparate materials such as aluminum alloys and carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs). The success of FDR hinges on the frictional penetration process executed by the blind rivet. When deploying FDR for the joining of high-strength materials, a substantial penetration force often arises, leading to deformations in the workpieces and potentially causing failure in the joining process. To mitigate the excessive penetration force, the use of induction heating to pre-warm the workpiece before the FDR process has been suggested. This led to the development of the induction heating-assisted flow drill riveting (IHFDR) method. In this work, a FEM model was built for the IHFDR penetration process. This model was specifically designed for the AA7075-T6 sheet, utilizing the ABAQUS software. Induction preheating impact on the temperature of the workpiece during the rivet penetration process was scrutinized. The analysis revealed that the workpiece’s peak temperature during the rivet penetration process was elevated due to induction preheating. Furthermore, it was observed that as the preheating elevated the workpiece temperature, the rate of increase for the peak temperature lessened.