Realistic Cold Expansion Finite Element Model and Experimental Validations for Aluminium Alloys

Accurate understanding of the residual stresses produced by cold expansion (CX) of rivet holes is required for fatigue considerations, as well as for better addressing the loading problems in aerospace parts. This paper presents a physically based finite element (FE) model for predicting the residual stresses in aluminium parts submitted to CX. The model relies on experimental measurements for both construction and validation purposes. The model predictions were compared against the experimental results delivered by three different complementary techniques: Digital Image Correlation (DIC) (provided strain fields on the surface of the workpiece); X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) (provided residual stresses measurements on the surfaces); Microscopy measurements (measured the out-of-plane displacement on the hole bore). The FE model proves to be in good agreement with the experimental data. Further considerations on the simulation method regarding geometries, boundary conditions and friction effect are also discussed.