3. Conclusion and outlook

The problem of modeling flat crimping is addressed through an experimental and numerical approach to the process. Successful numerical simulation of crimping depends above all on robust physical modeling of sheet metal behavior and friction during crimping. The study also assesses the robustness of a commercial finite element code such as OPTRIS v6.1 used in the automotive industry. The results show that shell elements based on the Reissner-Mindlin assumption, theoretically limited to average sheet deflections, in fact provide acceptable results in crimp forming. However, an improvement to these elements is proposed by Tabiei and Tanov [29] and may enable better behavior in high bending.

The study remains focused on the crimping of flat parts. It can be extended to parts with more complex geometries,...