Investigation of Fracture Formation During Bending of 5xxx Series Aluminum Alloys

Aluminum alloys are frequently used in the defense industry thanks to their lightweight and comparatively high strength. In the current study, bending and fracture formation characteristics of EN AW 5083-H321 aluminum sheets are investigated using bending tests and finite element analysis. Bending tests are conducted using three different thicknesses in sheet metals, namely 3 mm, 4 mm, and 6 mm. Furthermore, five different bending radii is combined with those thicknesses. Limiting bending radius to thickness ratios are determined using experiments. Those experiments are modeled using finite element analysis. Consequently, fracture parameters of the investigated material are defined to be able to accurately model the process. Therefore, a valuable tool has been developed to aid designers in future applications.