Laser bending process in the Abaqus

Product Overview

In this example, we intend to simulate the laser bending process in the Abaqus software.

In this simulation, the effects of laser power, laser beam speed, and laser beam radius on the bending angle of the sheet are investigated.

Simulation Based on a Research Article

This project is based on the research article "Investigation on Laser Forming of Stainless Steel Sheets Under Coupling Mechanism". The numerical model is developed in Abaqus to investigate the laser forming behavior of stainless steel sheets.

The numerical results obtained from Abaqus are compared with the results reported in the reference article to evaluate the accuracy of the simulation.

Moving Laser Heat Source

A moving heat source is used to simulate the laser beam during the laser bending process. The movement of the heat source is defined using the DFLUX user subroutine in Abaqus.

The DFLUX subroutine allows the heat flux to be applied according to the position of the moving laser beam during the analysis. This approach is used to represent the thermal loading generated by the moving laser heat source.

Laser Parameters

Different laser parameters are investigated to evaluate their influence on the bending behavior of the stainless steel sheet. The main parameters considered in this study are laser power, laser beam speed, and laser beam radius.

By changing these parameters, different simulation cases are performed and the corresponding bending angle is calculated for each case.

Different Simulation Cases

Several simulation cases are performed by changing the laser power and laser beam speed. The bending angle is then calculated for each simulation case.

The results allow the effect of the laser processing parameters on the bending behavior of the stainless steel sheet to be investigated.

Laser Beam Diameter

The laser beam diameter is defined in the Abaqus model to represent the size of the laser heat source applied to the sheet.

The laser beam size is an important parameter in the thermal distribution and consequently affects the resulting bending behavior of the sheet.

Material Definition

The sheet is modeled using AISI 304 stainless steel. The required material properties are defined in Abaqus for the thermal and mechanical analysis.

The material data used in the simulation are also provided in an Excel file included with the project files.

Temperature Definition

The temperature unit used in this simulation is Kelvin (K).

The thermal response of the sheet is investigated as the moving laser heat source travels across the surface of the material.

Bending Angle

The resulting bending angle is calculated for each simulation case. The bending angle is used to evaluate the effect of the laser processing parameters on the final deformation of the sheet.

Results

The results obtained from the different simulation cases are collected and presented to investigate the relationship between the laser parameters and the resulting bending angle.

The numerical results can be used to evaluate how changes in laser power, beam speed, and beam radius affect the laser bending response of the stainless steel sheet.

Validation

This project has been validated, which means that the results obtained from the Abaqus software are compared with the results reported in the reference article.

The comparison shows that the numerical results obtained from Abaqus are in good agreement with the results reported in the article.

What You Will Learn

• How to simulate the laser bending process in Abaqus.
• How to model laser forming of stainless steel sheets.
• How to define a moving laser heat source.
• How to use the DFLUX user subroutine in Abaqus.
• How to define laser power in a laser bending simulation.
• How to define laser beam speed.
• How to define the laser beam radius.
• How to define the laser beam diameter.
• How to model AISI 304 stainless steel.
• How to perform different laser bending simulation cases.
• How to calculate the bending angle.
• How to investigate the effect of laser parameters on bending angle.
• How to compare Abaqus results with published research results.
• How to validate a laser bending simulation using a reference article.

Key Features

• Laser bending process in Abaqus.
• Laser forming of AISI 304 stainless steel sheet.
• Moving laser heat source.
• DFLUX user subroutine.
• Investigation of laser power.
• Investigation of laser beam speed.
• Investigation of laser beam radius.
• Laser beam diameter definition.
• Bending angle calculation.
• Different simulation cases.
• Temperature unit: Kelvin.
• Comparison with reference article results.
• Validation of the Abaqus model.
• Complete Abaqus CAE file.
• Abaqus INP file.
• 4 Fortran subroutine codes.
• Excel file containing AISI 304 material data.
• Excel file containing results.
• Reference research paper.
• Step-by-step video tutorial.

Reference

This project is based on the research article "Investigation on Laser Forming of Stainless Steel Sheets Under Coupling Mechanism". The reference paper is included with the project files and can be used to review the laser forming model and the reported results.