Experimental Test and FEA of a Sheet Metal Forming Process of Composite Material and Steel Foil in Sandwich Design Using LS-DYNA

A structural concept in multi-material design is used in the automotive industry with the aim of achieving significant weight reductions of conventional car bodies. In this respect, the specific use of steel foils and continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastics represents an interesting material combination for the production of hybrid parts in sandwich design. This contribution deals with the experimental and numerical analysis of a conventional sheet metal forming process using a composite material based on Polyamide 6 (PA6) with unidirectional endless glass fiber reinforcement and HC220Y+ZE steel foil. A unidirectional composite plate is positioned between two steel foils in sandwich design and formed under appropriate temperature conditions. For the numerical analysis of the forming process the software LS-DYNA is used.