Forming of 7075-T6 Aluminum in High Pressure Environments

Abstract

Plates of 7075-T6 Aluminum have been folded along a major axis in pressure environments of atmospheric, 20,000 psi, and 40,000 psi. A finite element computer program is used to determine the stress state in the plates at various loads. Tension and compression tests conducted in pressure environments up to 70,000 psi were used to construct models using effective stress, effective strain, and pressure as parameters to predict the behavior of the material under various stress conditions. A prediction of the occurrence of fracture in the folded plate was possible using the computer results and the pressure dependent model. As better finite element stress analysis programs become available, both the forming operation and the test specimen can be analyzed to provide more accurate data that can be coupled with tension and compression data to predict the performance of metalforming operations under pressure.