1. Center for Manufacturing and Design with Lightweight Materials Michigan Technological University 1 Hydroforming of Aluminum Extrusions Background  Hydroforming is a manufacturing process where liquid pressure is used to form complex shapes  Rolled sheet steels and extruded parts are used to form complex parts using hydroforming  Advantages include weight reduction due to part consolidation, reduced investment in tooling, and reduced number and complexity in production steps Faculty: Ghatu Subhash Students: Adam Loukus and Mehdi Imaninejad Research Objective  Optimize the process parameters (e.g., axial feed rate and internal pressure path) to obtain maximum formability in aluminum extrusions  Identify the influence of extrusion welds on mechanical behavior  Development forming limit diagrams  Finite element analysis to identify the interplay between process parameter selection and material behavior

2. Center for Manufacturing and Design with Lightweight Materials Michigan Technological University 2 Experimental Details and Modeling

3. Center for Manufacturing and Design with Lightweight Materials Michigan Technological University 3 Weld Characterization Seam Weld Tensile Specimen 90 degrees0 degrees