Simplified numerical simulation of forming a car wheel disk using the SIMEX explicit FEM code, and comparisons with press-shop results

Abstract

The numerical simulation of manufacturing processes became in recent years a very important tool for improving the performance of Computer Aided Engineering methods in industrial sectors using the deep drawing process, such as in the automotive industry. This was a consequence of the development of new user friendly and robust 3D Finite Element Explicit Time Integration Codes for the improved workstations and supercomputers. Although the 3D Finite Element Implicit Time Integration Codes are considered the best methods to analyze the quasi static deep drawing process, the computer and memory size are too large. This paper is focused on the simulation of the forming process of several stages of a car wheel disk, where bending deformation becames predominant over deep drawing and stretching, with the inverse 3D Finite Element Code SIMEX. Among the several numerically predicted results, thickness is compared with the experimental results obtained using hot rolled steel sheets with different properties and thickness; since the weight reduction is the industrial challenge. Although this numerical simulation provides only approximate descriptions, the very short computer processing time required to obtain results makes the code SIMEX very useful at the design stage, where the selection of new materials should be made.