Enhancing the formability of aluminium components via temperature controlled hydroforming

New requirements of the automotive industry, concerning lightweight and non-corroding construction, demand new production methods. Due to this the hydroforming process of aluminium alloys are of special interest. The disadvantage of aluminium alloys is the poorer formability compared to steel. A method to increase the formability of the aluminium alloys during the hydroforming process is the enhancement of the forming temperature. The following work starts with the description of the hydroforming process at room temperature. Afterwards a concept for the thermal hydroforming is developed and a forming tool for sheet metals is realised. With this tool, experiments are executed which investigate the formability, the wall-thickness distribution, the microstructure before and after the forming and the strain distribution of the aluminium alloys at enhanced temperatures. With this knowledge, a thermal hydroforming tube part will be developed and prototypes will be produced. Simultaneous to the practical experiments a Finite-Element Model will be developed and used for a parameter study as well as for the design of the thermal hydroforming part.