Study of residual stresses in tailor rolled blanked Al5J32-T4 sheets

Several automotive parts such as door panels have been manufactured by using load-adapted blanks for crash optimization and weight minimization. Recently, Tailor Rolled Blanks (TRB) has been introduced to remove the disadvantages of a welding process which was used in joining panel components. TRB offers better structural design capabilities due to the seamless transitions on the panels with different thicknesses. In spite of the advantages of the process, TRB leaves internal stresses in the panel. This residual stresses lower the formability of Tailor Rolled Blanked (TRBed) parts and cause cracks near severe curvature during subsequent forming processes. In this research, the residual stresses of TRBed Al5J32-T4 sheets were studied by X-ray stress analysis, and also microstructure was observed along the rolling direction. In addition, heat treatment was done after TRB process in order to compare the residual stresses to that of the TRBed sheets before the heat treatment.