This paper on "Production Safety for Hydroforming Products by Using FEA Techniques" was presented at the NAFEMS World Congress on Effective Engineering Analysis - 25-28 April 1999, Newport, Rhode Island, USA.

Introduction to Paper

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Aalen has been concerned many years with the numeric simulation of metal forming processes, in particular with the simulation of IHP processes. Since 1987 the finite element system LS-DYNA3D is used. Based on a research co-operation with the University of Wolverhampton, School of Engineering and the Built Environment, the research project "Hydroforming" was established in 1996. Under the chairmanship of Professor Dr. Ing. Herbert Bauer and the consulting of Professor Dr. Musa Mihsein and Dr. Richard Hall and on behalf of the company Siempelkamp Pressen Systeme GmbH & Co., section ALLFORM, process simulations of interior high pressure forming (IHP) operations are arising.
The task of this process simulation is to execute general feasibility studies for industrial applications of interior high pressure technology by using the finite element analysis (FEA) in order to obtain a reduction of the production development phase (time to market) or a reduction of the development costs (brake even point).