WORKSHOP: Composite Sheet Forming; September 12, 2001, Boston, Massachusetts

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

The aim of this Workshop on Composite Sheet Forming is to address key issues related to improving the viability of the composite sheet forming process in manufacturing. To accomplish this, the workshop will provide a forum for experimentalists, modeling specialists, statisticians, material suppliers and end users with the goal of formulating a feasible and representative benchmark and organizing for its execution. The benchmark will be used to standardize materials testing procedures for this new class of materials and to examine the current state-of-the-art in simulation. It is expected that the workshop will have significant international representation and will stimulate this kind of research in the U.S., which is unfortunately less active than our counterparts in Europe and Asia. Composite sheet forming has demonstrated great potential as a valuable alternative to provide high-strength and low-weight products at a much-reduced manufacturing cost. This cost reduction is due primarily to significantly shorter cycle times and parts consolidation. Over the past several years, an international group of academic and industry researchers has conducted studies of the material behavior and the forming process, in conjunction with fabrication of prototype parts. The outcome of this work is a substantial body of experimental and modeling data. However, as the research in this area is still relatively new, as compared to the longer history of sheet metal forming, much of these results have lead to more questions than answers, which was well echoed at recent technical conferences. The state of the research efforts in composite sheet forming are at a critical point where benchmarking will lead to major advances in our understanding of the strengths and limitations of existing experimental and modeling approaches.