TAILOR-WELDED BLANKS DURING FORMING
AUTOMOBILE PANELS

Chen Wei  Yang Jichang

(Mechanical Engineering School, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013)

Lin Zhongqin

(Mechanical Engineering School, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200030)

Abstract: Weld-bead movement and poorer formability are the urgent problems that need solving during forming automobile panels with tailor-welded blanks (TWBs). Calculating formula for weld-bead movement of TWBs in transverse uniaxial stretching is deduced. Based on analyzing the characteristics of automobile door-inner, two sheet metal and the position of weld-bead are determined, and two schemes of forming processes are put forward, which are “ step blank-holder ” and “ step blank-holder & weld-bead clamping bar ”. By means of dynamic finite element method, the effects of step blank-holder and weld-bead clamping bar on weld-bead movement are researched. After decreasing weld-bead movement, the formability of tailor-welded blanks is greatly improved according to the forming limited diagram, stress distribution, strain distribution and thickness thinning.

Key words: Tailor-welded blanks  Automobile panels  Weld-bead movement  Formability

CLC No: TG376
中国博士后科学基金(中博基[2001]14 号)和江苏省自然科学基金(BK200 2009)资助项目. Received 20030931, received in revised form 20040426