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A new methodology for integrating product & process engineering of a steel wheel

Federico Valente
ITACAe

Davide Fabio Rovarino
MW Italia

Though the manufacturing process (sheet metal forming, GMAW welding, e-coating, top coating …) induces not negligible effects (plastic strains, stresses, material hardening and surface treatments) onto the structural behaviour of a car steel wheel, we are far from a comprehensive integrated product-process FE based analysis procedure, due to the big complexity of all the physical phenomena to be modelled. In particular, according to the experience, effects of elastic-plastic deformation due to disc forming are especially important in the areas of the attachment plane in contact with the hub and the locking cones in contact with the bolts.
This paper deals with the attempt to closer to this goal through an approach set in two macro steps: 1) simulation of the whole disc forming process preceded by a process parameters sensitivity analysis; 2) static linear analysis on the wheel, after application of stress-strain distributions obtained from the previous step. The basis of this approach can apply to a more comprehensive procedure taking into account the actual effects of all the manufacturing operations, as well as the wheel locking and the vehicle exercise loading conditions, to the structural performance of the product.