Numerical analysis of failure modeling in clinching process chain simulation

<jats:p>Abstract. The application of the mechanical joining process clinching allows the assembly of different sheet metal materials with a wide range of material thickness configurations, which is of interest for lightweight multi-material structures. In order to be able to predict the clinched joint properties as a function of the individual manufacturing steps, current studies focus on numerical modeling of the entire clinching process chain. It is essential to be able to take into account the influence of the joining process-induced damage on the load-bearing capacity of the joint during the loading phase. This study presents a numerical damage accumulation in the clinching process based on an implemented Hosford-Coulomb failure model using a 3D clinching process model applied on the aluminum alloy EN AW-6014 in temper T4. A correspondence of the experimentally determined failure location with the element of the highest numerically determined damage accumulation is shown. Moreover, the experimentally determined failure behavior is predicted to be in agreement in the numerical loading simulation with transferred pre-damage from the process simulation. </jats:p>