New publication: a press forming benchmark to isolate deformation mechanisms for simulation validation

A new research article by Dennis Brands was published in the International Journal of Material Forming: "A press forming benchmark to isolate deformation mechanisms for simulation validation".

Accurate simulations of the press forming process for thermoplastic composites are essential for optimizing tool geometry and processing parameters. However, ensuring their reliability requires extensive validation, which can be time-consuming, expensive, and challenging due to the wide range of possible geometries. This study presents a structured approach to validating forming simulations by analyzing experimental results from press forming trials.

Blanks made from two unidirectional fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials were formed over a dome-shaped geometry, allowing for a controlled analysis of deformation behavior. By systematically varying the blank width and layup, the deformations and wrinkling behavior were influenced.

The article demonstrates that a careful selection of the forming conditions enables targeted analysis and validation of deformation mechanisms, including in-plane shear, bending, and interply friction. A strategy is proposed for using these results to validate forming simulations, evaluating the constitutive models used. The proposed validation strategy offers a practical framework for evaluating constitutive models, helping to improve the predictive accuracy of forming simulations.

This work is part of the research program MaterialenNL, which is (partly) funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). It was co-authored by Sebastiaan Wijskamp (TPRC), Wouter Grouve, and Remko Akkerman (Production Technology Group UT).