Creep and anelasticity in the springback of aluminum

Draw-bend tests, devised to measure springback in previous work, revealed that the specimen shapes for aluminum alloys can continue to change for long periods following forming and unloading. Steels tested under identical conditions showed no such time-dependent springback. In order to quantify the effect and infer its basis, four aluminum alloys, 2008-T4, 5182-O, 6022-T4 and 6111-T4, were draw-bend tested under conditions promoting the time-dependent response (small tool radius and low sheet tension). Detailed measurements were made over 15 months following forming, after which the shape changes were difficult to separate from experimental scatter. Earlier tests were re-measured up to 7 years following forming. The shape changes are generally proportional to log(time) up to a few months, after which the kinetics become slower. In order to understand the basis of the phenomenon, two models were considered: residual stress-driven creep, and anelastic deformation. In the first case, creep properties of 6022-T4 were measured and used to simulate creep-based time-dependent springback. Qualitative agreement was obtained using a crude finite element model. For the second possibility, novel anelasticity tests following reverse-path loading were performed for 6022-T4 and drawing-quality silicon-killed (DQSK) steel. Based on the experiments and simulations, it appears that anelasticity is unlikely to play a large role in long-term time-dependent springback of aluminum alloys.