Material characterization for Finite Element Simulation
Finite Element Method (FEM) is the most commonly used numerical method to evaluate the performance and functionality of a design. The accuracy of an FE-simulation significantly depends on the accurate characterization of the material behaviour (e.g. plasticity, fracture etc).
At the LKR, material characterization of aluminium (sheet, and extrusion) is performed using a combined experimental-numerical approach. The experimental testing program includes: Uniaxial Tension, Shear, Plain Strain Tension, and Biaxial Tension experiments.
Based on the testing program, appropriate material card for FE-simulation (in LS-DYNA) is calibrated.
Finally, the material card is validated at the component level (e.g. deep drawing, axial crushing, and 3-point bending test).