A New Methodology for Determination of Biaxial Tensile Behavior of AA7075-T6 Sheet Using Hot Gas Bulge Forming
SourceThere has been an increasing interest in fabricating automotive components from copper (Cu)–lean 7xxx-series aluminum (Al) alloys to produce structural components to achieve higher in-service strength and to reduce weight and cost (compared to steel). Within the 7xxx series, AA7075-T6 is used in aerospace and other structural applications that require high strength. One major technical issue preventing the widespread utilization of higher-strength AA7075-T6 is the poor ductility at room temperature. Warm forming offers a potential means to overcome this limitation. Since AA7075-T6 is a precipitation hardening alloy, heat treatments during forming and production need to be closely controlled to limit any loss of strength due to changes in the microstructure. A new testing method in the closed-die forming was successfully employed to experimentally obtain the material behavior in a biaxial tension mode. A hot gas bulge test was used to perform interrupted steps for determining the stress-strain curve in elevated temperature conditions. Images were obtained in increments, and the ARAMIS strain-mapping system based on the digital image correlation (DIC) method was used to calculate the strain measurement.