First exploring the cyclic behaviour of aluminium beams under non-uniform bending: Experimental and FE analysis

This work aims to present the first experimental tests investigating the cyclic behaviour of aluminium alloy beams. Box-shaped aluminium members were tested under non-uniform bending. Specifically, four square hollow sections made of 6060 aluminium alloy were subjected to cyclic bending loading. The manuscript presents key experimental results, including load-displacement curves, the number of cycles to failure, failure modes, and ductility properties. Additionally, a finite element model was developed using the ABAQUS software. A combined hardening law was implemented to model the non-linear behaviour of the aluminium material, and the element deletion technique was used to predict the actual fracture of the specimens. Finally, the accuracy of the FE model was assessed by comparing the numerical results with the experimental data.