Spring‐back of Al/CF/PEEK parts during one‐step hot stamping forming using a CAE chain considering all process steps

Abstract Spring‐back is a forming defect in thermoplastic fiber‐metal‐laminate (FML) structures that is influenced by all steps of the forming process. Here, we propose a complete CAE chain to predict spring‐back in a FML parts during one‐step hot stamping by fully considering the material properties, latent heat, thermal mismatch, and modulus mismatch during forming and cooling. Then, constitutive models of the aluminum sheet, a visco‐hyperelastic constitutive model, and an elastic model of the UD CF/PEEK prepregs during hot‐stamping and cooling are introduced to describe the deformation behavior. A Coulombic friction model, latent heat model, and contact resistance model are also proposed to describe the interfacial flow, heat generation, and thermal conductivity. The proposed models and CAE chain are validated by the experimentally determined punching force, geometric shape, temperature, and spring‐back angle. The S‐shaped feature of the FML greatly increases the spring‐back of the FML specimens, and lower punching speeds and higher forming temperatures decreases the S‐shaped feature, thereby reducing the spring‐back angle. Highlights A complete CAE chain was proposed to predict spring‐back in a FML curved beam. A new visco‐hyperelastic constitutive model of the CF/PEEK was applied. The latent heat and thermal mismatch were considered in cooling simulation. The S‐shaped feature of the FML greatly increases the spring‐back. The thermal mismatch increased the S‐shaped feature of the FML.