B04 - Risswachstum in gefügten Strukturen

Clinching as a mechanical joining technique allows a fast and reliable joining of metal sheets in large-scale production. An efficient design and dimensioning of clinched joints requires a holistic understanding of the material, the joining process and the resulting properties of the joint. In this paper, the process chain for clinching metal sheets is described and experimental techniques are proposed to analyze the process-microstructure-property relationships from the sheet metal to the joined structure. At the example of clinching aluminum EN AW 6014, characterization methods are applied and discussed for the following characteristics: the mechanical properties of the sheet materials, the tribological behavior in the joining system, the joining process and the resulting material structure, the load-bearing behavior of the joint, the damage and degradation as well as the service life and crack growth behavior. The compilation of the characterization methods gives an overview on the advantages and weaknesses of the methods and the multiple interactions of material, process and properties during clinching. In addition, the results of the analyses on EN AW 6014 can be applied for parameterization and validation of simulations.

Crack growth in structures depends on the cyclic loads applied on it, such as mechanical, thermal and contact, as well as residual stresses, etc. To provide an accurate simulation of crack growth in structures, it is of high importance to integrate all kinds of loading situations in the simulations. Adapcrack3D is a simulation program that can accurately predict the propagation of cracks in real structures. However, until now, this three-dimensional program has only considered mechanical loads and static thermal loads. Therefore, the features of Adapcrack3D have been extended by including contact loading in crack growth simulations. The numerical simulation of crack propagation with Adapcrack3D is generally carried out using FE models of structures provided by the user. For simulating models with contact loading situations, Adapcrack3D has been updated to work with FE models containing multiple parts and necessary features such as coupling and surface interactions. Because Adapcrack3D uses the submodel technique for fracture mechanical evaluations, the architecture of the submodel is also modified to simulate models with contact definitions between the crack surfaces. This paper discusses the newly implemented attribute of the program with the help of illustrative examples. The results confirm that the contact simulation in Adapcrack3D is a major step in improving the functionality of the program.

For a reliable, strength-compliant and fracture-resistant design of components and technical structures and for the prevention of damage cases, both the criteria of strength calculation and fracture mechanics are essential. In contrast to strength calculation the fracture mechanics assumes the existence of cracks which might further propagate due to the operational load. First, the present paper illustrates the general procedure of a fracture mechanical evaluation of fatigue cracks in order to assess practical damage cases. Fracture mechanical fundamentals which are essential for the calculation of the stress intensity factors <jats:italic>K</jats:italic> <jats:sub>I</jats:sub> and the experimental determination of fracture mechanical material parameters (e.g. threshold Δ<jats:italic>K</jats:italic> <jats:sub>I,th</jats:sub> against fatigue crack growth, crack growth rate curve) are explained in detail. The subsequent fracture mechanical evaluation on the basis of the local stress situation at the crack tip and the fracture mechanical material data is executed for different materials and selected crack problems. Hereby, the main focus is on the material HCT590X as it is the essential material being investigated by TRR285.</jats:p>