Numerical and experimental formability analysis of aluminum 3105 sandwich panels produced by continuous hot-press forming

Abstract Aluminum–plastic composites as building materials are widely used for different construction purposes, for instance, for exterior wall cladding, ventilated facades, and interior decoration of buildings, in billboards, trains, and automotive industry. The main goal of this study is to investigate the formability of AA3105/LDPE/AA3105 sandwich composite in detail, which would exhibit a higher formability compared to AA3105 due to its higher strain rate sensitivity and strain hardening exponent. This is of decisive importance for the manufacturing process. The Nakajima tests are performed to experimentally determine the forming limit curves (FLCs) using in situ optical technique digital image correlation. Furthermore, numerical simulations of Nakajima tests are conducted using a modified Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman damage model to compare the numerically and experimentally determined FLCs. The results show that the sandwich composite underwent inhomogeneous deformation during the Nakajima test, and that the FLC has no typical patterns exhibited by metal sheets. The FLCs predicted by the numerical model used in this study exhibit a very good correlation with the FLCs determined experimentally. The results of the present study provide new insights into the analysis and understanding of the deformation behavior of the sandwich composite sheet that may undergo complex stress and strain states.