Numerical fatigue life prediction of corroded and non-corroded clinched joints
Sven Harzheim, Martin Hofmann, Thomas Wallmersperger
Abstract
Mechanical clinching is used to create lightweight hybrid structures. In order to estimate the service life of clinched components, its fatigue properties need to be known under different mechanical loading conditions. In addition to fatigue, corrosion is another factor that affects the fatigue life of clinched joints. In the literature, many corrosion and high-cycle fatigue damage models exist. However, little is known about how both phenomena interact in clinched joints. In this article, the influence of galvanic corrosion on clinched EN AW-6014/HCT590X + Z sheets on the fatigue life is investigated by means of numerical simulations and experimental results. An accurate prediction of the Wöhler lines of non-corroded and pre-corroded clinched specimens is shown.