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Investigation of the novel two-step flat clinching process to achieve double-sided flat surfaces on engineering structures

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Abstract

Nowadays, there is a growing tendency regarding the clinching process applied in lightweight structures, especially in automotive structures. However, the external protrusion on the clinched joint may restrict it applied in engineering structures where flat surfaces are required. This article proposed a novel two-step flat clinching process (TSFC) that can produce clinched joints with double-sided flat surfaces. A dieless clinching process free of blank holder was implemented to produce the initial dieless clinched joints. The initial dieless clinched joints were flattened by a pair of flat dies to form the TSFC joints. The forming process, geometrical characteristics, static strength, and failure behavior of TSFC joints under different flattening forces were experimentally investigated. The result shows that as the flattening force increases, the protrusion height of the TSFC joint is decreased continuously. When the flattening force is 50 kN, a joint with double-sided flat surfaces can be achieved.

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Acknowledgements

This research work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52275398), Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation for Excellent Young Scholars (Grant No. 2021JJ20059), Huxiang High-Level Talent Gathering Project of Hunan Province (Grant No. 2021RC5001), the Project of State Key Laboratory of High Performance Complex Manufacturing, Central South University (Grant No. ZZYJKT2022-01), and Huxiang Young Talents Program of Hunan Province (No. 2021RC3024).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Light Alloy Research Institute, School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Denglin Qin, Chao Chen, Haijun Li & Xiaoqiang Ren

  2. State Key Laboratory of High Performance Complex Manufacturing, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Denglin Qin, Chao Chen, Haijun Li & Xiaoqiang Ren

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  1. Denglin Qin
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  2. Chao Chen
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Correspondence to Chao Chen.

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Qin, D., Chen, C., Li, H. et al. Investigation of the novel two-step flat clinching process to achieve double-sided flat surfaces on engineering structures. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 44, 525 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-022-03809-z

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