Clinching in In Situ CT—A Novel Validation Method for Mechanical Joining Processes

Force–displacement measurements and micrograph analyses are commonly used methods to validate numerical models of clinching processes. However, these methods often lead to resetting of elastic deformations and crack- closing after unloading. In contrast, the in situ computed tomography (CT) can provide three-dimensional images of the clinch point under loading conditions. In this paper, the potential of the in situ investigation of a clinching process as validation method is analyzed. For the in situ testing, a tailored test set-up featuring a beryllium cylinder for load-bearing and clinching tools made from ultra-high-strength titanium and Si3N4 are used. In the experiments, the clinching of two aluminum sheets is interrupted at specific process steps in order to perform the CT scans. It is shown that in situ CT visualizes the inner geometry of the joint at high precision and that this method is suitable to validate numerical models.