Formability of Accumulative Roll Bonded Aluminum AA1050 and AA6016 Investigated Using Bulge Tests

A study was conducted, using hydraulic bulge tests, to investigate formability of accumulative roll bonded (ARB) aluminum AA 1050 and AA6016 alloys. ARB has emerged as an appropriate method for practical applications, as it can be enhanced and adapted to a conventional rolling process, to produce large scale UFG metal sheets. The study focuses on the ARB processed commercial purity aluminum alloys. These ultrafine-grained aluminum metal sheets have emerged as potential materials for the latest light weight materials in the automotive industry. Hydraulic bulge tests were carried out, to investigate and qualify the ARB process for these applications and for investigating the microstructural evolution, mechanical properties, and ability of sheet metal forming. It was found that the sheet metal forming capability of ARB processed materials is essential for successful use of these hybrid materials in technical applications.