Analyses of Effects of Process Parameters on Laser Bending of Stiffened Panels

In this paper, laser forming technology was extended to form the stiffened panels. Compared with the plate with constant thickness, the stiffened panel was a type of panel with complicated structure and was hard to form. In order to gain a profound insight into the deformation characteristics of the stiffened panel under laser forming, a finite element model was established. The effects of process parameters on the deformation characteristics were investigated in terms of temperature distribution, stress and strain distribution. The influences of the process parameters on the unexpected deformation were analyzed by analyzing the influences of the process parameters on the maximum temperature theoretically. The results showed that laser spot diameter had the most important effect on the maximum temperature followed by the laser power and scanning speed. So when the scanning speed changed, the variation of the difference of the plastic strain between the top and bottom surface was the smallest.When the laser spot diameter decreased, the increment of the maximum temperature, the plastic strain as well as the deformation of the middle position of the scanning path was the largest. The increase of the deformation of the middle position of the scanning path could decrease the degree of the nonuniformity of the deformation of the free end, namely increasing the quality of the formed panel.