Energy absorption capacity for thin-walled AM60 castings using a shear-bolt principle

The energy absorption potential of high pressure die cast (HPDC) plates made of magnesium alloy AM60 is investigated using a shear-bolt principle. To study the effect of bolt geometry, the tests are performed using bolts with both pentagonal and circular shapes made of high strength steel. It is found that this deformation principle gives an approximately constant average force during the deformation process. A simple empirical model for prediction of the mean shearing force as a function of plate thickness and bolt diameter is proposed. Further, the experiments are simulated numerically using the explicit FE-code LS-DYNA. The numerical simulations are performed using a user-defined material model, consisting of an elastic–plastic model based on a non-associated J2-flow theory and the Cockcroft–Latham fracture criterion. The fracture criterion is coupled with an element erosion algorithm available in LS-DYNA.