In the current study, fundamental deep drawing characteristics of Ti-6Al-4V alloy sheets were investigated to establish the effect of processing conditions on large size square deep drawn cups. To accomplish this study, FE-simulations (Abaqus) were performed to determine optimum blank size, friction coefficient, the gap between punch and die, etc. The simulated processing parameters were verified experimentally. Based on the FE-simulation results, deep drawing was performed with various blank holding loads and sample sizes. In order to improve the formability of Ti-6Al-4V sheet, various lubricant methods were evaluated. Tensile tests and thickness measurements were conducted on the formed sheets. Processing parameters including blank holding force, lubricants, and optimum blank size, were selected to achieve improved drawing quality. With the optimum processing condition, a $200mm{\times}200mm$ cup was deep drawn successfully.

For an accurate analysis of hot stamping, a coupled simulation with different aspects of the process(i.e. mechanical, thermal, and phase transformation) is needed. However, coupled simulations are time consuming and costly. Therefore, the current study proposes a simplified method focused on the forming for the hot stamping simulation of a coupled torsion beam axle (CTBA) tubular beam. In this simplified method, non-isothermal conditions were assumed and only conduction was considered, since it represents the majority of the heat transfer during hot stamping. In addition, temperature and strain rate effects were also included. Moreover, an isothermal simulation was conducted and compared with a non-isothermal simulation. Finally, the simulations were verified by experiments. In conclusion, the proposed method is shown to be effective for the development of tube-type parts, and it effectively predicts the deformation of the tubular beam during hot stamping.

Hot tensile tests were conducted at different temperatures ranging from $20^{\circ}C$ to $550^{\circ}C$ to evaluate the mechanical properties of Al5052 seamless tubes. Such tubes can provide the technological foundation for complex forming using hot air bulging. Hot air bulging is one of the recently developed hydroforming techniques and it has some limitations in terms of cycle times. The benefits of hot air bulging are weight and cost savings through part consolidation and reduced post-forming processes such as welding and piercing. In order to extend the forming limits of Al lightweight material hot air bulging was investigated. A heated tube was placed in a heated die and sealed at the ends by sealing cylinders. The heated tube was subsequently expanded against the die cavity wall by internal pressure using air medium. The results of the current study show that axial feeding speed and air pressure have an effect on the formability of Al tubes during air bulging at elevated temperatures.

After a short review of the iterative optimal blank method, a new method of measuring the shape error for stamped parts with 3D contour lines, which is an essential component of the optimal blank design, is proposed. When the contour line of the target shape does not exist in a plane, but exists in 3D space, especially when the shape of the target contour line is very complicated as in the real automotive parts, then the measurement of the shape error is critical. In the current study, a method of shape error measurement based on the minimum distance is suggested as an evolution of the radius vector method. With the proposed method, the optimal blank shapes of real automotive parts were found and compared to the results of the radius vector method. From the current investigation the new method is found to resolve the issues with the radius vector method.

The purpose of the current study is to improve the clinching joint strength of aluminum and fiber metal laminates (FMLs) comprised of three layers. The joining of FML and Al 5052 by a conventional clinching joint has some disadvantages such as necking of the upper sheet, lack of interlocking, defects caused by the vertical load, and especially loss of strength of the composite material due to the low ductility. In the current study, a tapered-hole clinching method is proposed as an alternative for the joining of Al 5052 and FMLs. A hole with a tapered shape is formed before the joining process. The design parameters were evaluated using the Taguchi method for the geometry of the tapered hole in order to determine the maximum separation load. The diameter of the punch corner, clearance, punch stroke and the tapered length were used as the main variables in the Taguchi method. In conclusion, the contribution ratio for each of the fours variable examined was 35.07%, 22.44%, 21.32% and 14.11%, respectively. In addition, the appropriate combination of the design parameters can make a 5% improvement in the vertical direction joint strength.

The current study seeks to examine the effects of V and C additions on the mechanical and low thermal expansion properties of a high strength invar base alloy. The base alloy (Fe-36%Ni-0.9%Co-2.75%Mo-0.7Cr-0.23Mn-0.17Si-0.3%C, wt.%) contains $Mo_2C$ carbides, which form as the main precipitate. In contrast, alloys with additions of 0.4%V+0.3%C (alloy A) or 0.4%V+0.45%C (alloy B) contain $Mo_2C$+[V, Mo]C carbides. The average thermal expansion coefficients of these high strength invar based alloys were measured in the range of $5.16{\sim}5.43{\mu}m/m{\cdot}^{\circ}C$ for temperatures of $15{\sim}230^{\circ}C$. Moreover, alloy B showed lower thermal expansion coefficient than the other alloys in this temperature range. For the mechanical properties, the [V, Mo]C improved hardness and strengths(Y.S. and T.S.) of the high strength invar base alloy. T.S.(tensile strength) and Y.S.(yield strength) of hot forged alloy B specimen were measured at 844.6MPa and 518.0MPa, respectively. The tensile fractography of alloy B exhibited a ductile transgranular fracture mode and voids were initiated between the [V, Mo]C particles and the matrix. Superior properties of high strength and low thermal expansion coefficient can be obtained by [V, Mo]C precipitation in alloy B with the addition of 0.4%V and 0.45%C.

Evaluation of the elevated temperature flow stress for thermoplastic fiber metal laminates(TFMLs) sheet, comprised of two aluminum sheets in the exterior layers and a self-reinforced polypropylene(SRPP) in the interior layer, was conducted. The flow stress as a function of temperature should be evaluated prior to the actual forming of these materials. The flow stress can be obtained experimentally by uniaxial tensile tests or analytically by deriving a flow stress model. However, the flow stress curve of TFMLs cannot be predicted properly by existing flow stress models because the deformation with temperature of these types of materials is different from that of a generic pure metallic material. Therefore, the flow stress model, which includes the effect of the temperature, should be carefully identified. In the current study, the flow stress of TFMLs were first predicted by using existing flow stress models such as Hollomon, Ludwik, and Johnson-Cook models. It is noted that these existing models could not effectively predict the flow stress. Flow stress models such as the modified Hollomon and modified Ludwik model were proposed with respect to temperatures of $23^{\circ}C$, $60^{\circ}C$, $90^{\circ}C$, $120^{\circ}C$. Then the stress-strain curves, which were predicted using the proposed flow stress models, were compared to the stress-strain curves obtained from experiments. It is confirmed that the proposed flow stress models can predict properly the temperature dependent flow stress of TFMLs.