Paint-bake effect on the plasticity and fracture of pre-strained aluminum 6451 sheets

In automotive engineering, sheet metal components are subject to a 20-30 min heat treatment at 180 C during paint baking. This process may significantly alter the mechanical properties of 6000-series aluminum alloys through artificial ageing. Here, a comprehensive experimental program is carried out to characterize the anisotropic plasticity and the fracture initiation in pre-strained artificially-aged aluminum 6451 sheets. It is found that the combination of pre-straining up to 5% strain and heat treatment mainly changes the material's strain hardening behavior and the stress-state sensitivity of its fracture response. The material parameters of the Yld2000-2d plasticity model with combined Swift-Voce hardening are identified for four distinct materials from uniaxial tension and shear experiments. The corresponding Hosford-Coulomb fracture model parameters are determined from smiley shear, V-bending and punch experiments. As an important byproduct of the research, the Yld2000-2d and Hosford-Coulomb models are successfully validated for all four materials through notched and central hole tension experiments. Simple empirical expressions are also provided to estimate the material properties as a function of the pre-strain in engineering practice.