Numerical Simulation for Heat Transfer Process of Clinching with Magnesium Alloys

The clinching process of magnesium alloys has a great potential of being high efficient joining method, but it is restricted by the limited formability of magnesium alloys at room temperature. To form acceptable joints without cracking, it is usually required to heat the parts to about 220 degrees C. However, the pre-heating times of traditional forming method is more than 3 to 6 seconds, the application of clinching for magnesium alloys is restricted by the over long periods of heating time. A new joining process with a contoured die is introduced to offer great benefits, especially in pre-heating time. Then the heat transfer process is simulated with DEFORM-3D software. The results show that the pre-heating time reduced to less than I second. Thus it is efficient and reliable in joining of magnesium alloys parts.