Finite element analysis of aluminum tube hydroforming based on non-quadratic yield function

Although very accurate in representing the material anisotropy, finite element analysis based on direct use of a polycrystal model is CPU-intensive (Guan et al., 2006a). In the present study, this Taylor-type polycrystalline model was firstly used to predict the anisotropy coefficients of Yld96 yield function. Then this phenomenological anisotropic yield function was implemented into ABAQUS/Standard finite element code, using UMAT, for the hydroforming simulation of a 6061-T4 extruded aluminum tube. It was shown that compared with von Mises (1913) and Hill's (1948) yield function, the Yld96 material model's predictions are in better agreement with experimental data. Copyright © 2008 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.