A Comparative Multifield FEA and Experimental Study on the Enhanced Manufacturability of 6061-T6511 Aluminum Using dc Current

An electric current, applied during deformation, has been shown to reduce the deformation force/energy, while also increasing the maximum achievable strain and decreasing springback. Considering this, the present work initiates the development of a finite element model to investigate electricity’s thermal/structural effects on a tensile specimen. The model allows the effect of joule-heating to be separated from other nonthermal property changes caused by the electricity. Comparison with experimental tensile testing with respect to the predicted stress-strain behavior and transient temperature profiles demonstrates the model predicts these behaviors adequately. A multifield large deformation finite element model is then developed. The model evaluates the stress-strain characteristics of the material while the specimen is carrying a large dc current and is being deformed, incorporating the effect of thermal softening. The simulation results are compared with surface infrared temperature measurements in order to verify the finite element model and then to actual deformation results in order to attain more qualitative and quantitative insight into the effects of the electric field.