Development and Optimization of a Formable Sandwich Sheet

This thesis investigates the mechanical behavior of a new type of formable all-metal bi-directionally corrugated sandwich sheet material. Unlike conventional flat sandwich panel materials, this type of sandwich sheet material can be formed into three-dimensional shapes using traditional sheet metal forming techniques. In a first step, the core structure geometry is optimized such as to offer the highest shear stiffness-to-weight ratio. The post yielding behavior of the “optimal” sandwich structure is investigated using finite elements simulations of multi-axial experiments. A phenomenological constitutive model is proposed using an associative flow rule and distortional hardening. An inverse procedure is outlined to describe the sandwich material model parameter identification based on uniaxial tension and four-point bending experiments. In addition, simulations of a draw bending experiment are performed using a detailed finite element model as a well as a computationally-efficient composite shell element model. Good agreement of both simulations is observed for different forming tool geometries which is seen as a partial validation of the proposed constitutive model. te l-0 06 91 24 6, v er si on 1 25 A pr 2 01 2