AluminumBottleFormingSimulationwithAbaqus

KunmingMao
DASSAULTSYSTEMESSIMULIACORP.,CentralRegion,WestLafayette,IN, 47906,USA
AlejandroSantamaria
TheCocaColaCompany,OneCocaColaPlaza,Atlanta,GA,30313,USA

Abstract:Thispaperpresentsseveralmodeling techniques forsimulatingandoptimizing

aluminumbottleformingusingAbaqus/Explicit. Designingandtuning sheetmetalforming tools
foraluminumbottles are quitecomplicatedandtime consuming tasks.Thesetasks musttakeinto
considerationanumberof potential issues,suchas thesuccessrateofforming,bottleshape
smoothness,bottleloadcapacity,sheetmetal overthinning, andmetalwrinkling. Toshortenthe
designcycleandreducethenumberof formingtool prototypesforthe CokeContouraluminum
bottle,simulationswithAbaqusserved asvirtualtestgroundsto providevaluableinsightinto the
bottles complex forming processes. Becauseof largedeformation and contactinteractions,
Abaqusnonlinearcapabilitieswerewellsuited for these tasks.Thispaperdemonstrates Abaqus
forming applications that helped resolve issuesarisingfromrealisticindustrialformingdesign
andproduction processes. Three bottleformingsimulations used to predict sheetmetalforming
instability, metaloverthinning,andmetalwrinklingare usedto illustrate theeffectivenessof
numericalsimulations.
Keywords:Cokebottle,sheetmetal forming,forminginstability,FLSD,FLD, MSFLD,surface
smoothness,loadcapacity,die, closuresystem, threadforming,reversedrawforming

1. Introduction
Afewyearsago, TheCocaColaCompany (Coke)decidedtorevolutionizethe beverageindustry
by developing alightweightresealablealuminumbottlethatwouldusethecurrentaluminum can
makingprocessasitsbase platform. Themakingof thisbottleinvolvedanumberof forming
stages,including cupping, cylinderdrawing and ironing,die forming,andtopfinishforming
(threadingandcurling).Developing the relatedtoolswascomplicatedandtime consuming, dueto
the extensivelistof package performance requirements, themanufacturing processrobustness,
costoptimization, and otherfactors.NumericalsimulationsusingAbaqus providedstrongvirtual
testgroundsforinvestigating these issues,validating designideas,andseeking newoptimized
solutions.
Thispaperpresents severalsimulationtechniquesusingAbaqustomodelthree aluminumbottle
formingprocesses:

Thecuppingformingprocessthatturnsaflatsheetofaluminumblankintoacupshape

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The die neckingandexpansionprocessesthat transforms a cylinder

into the iconic Coke Contourshape

Thetopfinishforming process

Althoughnotpresentedhereindetail, numericalsimulations have also been

usedtoinvestigate anumberof otherdesignandoptimizationissues,suchas
sheetmetal selection,bottleformingvisualsurfacediscontinuities, formed
bottletoploadingcapacity,sheetmetalthicknessoptimization, and topfinish
formationspeedoptimization. Thesesimulationshaveprovidedinformationthat
isnoteasilyoreconomicallyachievedinaphysicaltestlab. Theyhavealso
proventobepowerfulcomplementstothephysicallabtests.
The firststepof thebottlemakingprocessiscupping,whereablankcutfrom a
rolledflataluminumsheetisdrawnintoacup. The cupforaluminumbottlesis
dimensionallyuniqueandrequiresanadditionalformingstepnottypicallyused
whenmaking cupsforregularcans. Metalwrinkling andoverthinning weretwo
undesirablephenomenaexperiencedduringtheinitialprototypingofthe
Contourbottle.Abaqus/Explicitsimulationwasabletomimicthewrinkling
observedintherealworld, allowingthe designteamto identify keysetup
parameters andtoolingdesignchangestopreventwrinklingandoverthinning.
Die necking isawellknowntechnique usedtoreducethediameterofaluminumcylindersathigh
speeds,butitsapplicationhasbeenlimitedtothetop10 centimetersofthemetal cylinderbeing
shapeddueto physicallimitations ofcommercially availablemachines. Coke,inpartnershipwith
itssuppliers,workedtobringlongerstrokedieneckingmachinesfromotherindustriestothe
beveragelandscape and broke the 10centimeterthreshold,creating theopportunitytoproduce
previously unattainable metalpackagingshapes. The resultingformingprocessallowedCoketo
produce the iconicContourshape withoneofthemostvastlyusedpackagingmaterials:
aluminum.
Abaqussheetmetal forming instabilitypredictioncapability (SIMULIA,June2008) provided
extremely valuableinsights afteranunacceptablerateof sheetmetalfractureswasobserved
during the bottlesinitial prototyping process.Simulationswereusedtooptimizetooling
geometriesandformingstepsaswellas tocompare materialselectionsinordertoimprove
formingsuccessrates.
Becauseof the relativelylarge amountof metaldisplacement requiredtoachievethe shapeofthe
bottlesupperportion, the topdieneckingprocesscancausesomesmall visiblesurface
discontinuities, referredto aswitness rings,whichwerecategorizedasunacceptablebyCokes
marketingteam. Thesimulationswereeffectiveforoptimizingthe dieneckingtoolprofilesto
alleviate the witnessrings.
Thebottlescolumnloadresistance, ortoploadingcapacity, wasanotherconcernduringthe
bottleshapedesign.Simulationswerealsousedtopredictthetoploadingcapacityoftheformed
bottle,whichledtoselectionoftheinitialsheetmetalthicknessduringthedesignstage.This
ensuredthat the final bottle hadenoughstrengthtowithstandtherequiredcappingaxialloads
withoutoverusing material.

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Duringthe bottlestopfinishformingprocess,metaloverthinningwasobservedinphysicaltests.
Simulations ofthe topfinishformingprocessreproducedtheoverthinning phenomenonand
provideda meanstoevaluateandoptimize the toolingparameters requiredto prevent thisdefect.
The followingsections describe howAbaqus/Explicitsimulationswereapplied toaluminum
bottleformingprocesses.These simulations focusonsheetmetal forminginstabilityprediction
during the bottleneckingandexpansion, sheetmetaloverthinning duringtopforming,and
wrinkling duringcupping.Alongwithothersimulations notpresentedhere, thesesimulations
convincedtheCocaCola GlobalPackaging team thatAbaqussimulations were thebesttoolfor
providing fastturnaroundof designiterations,quickvalidationofnewideas, and reductionof
costly physicaltoolingprototyping.

2. SheetMetalInstabilityfromBottleNeckingandExpansion
Dieneckingandexpansionarekeyformingprocessesusedto turnacylindricalaluminumshape
into the iconic Coke Contourbottleshape shownontheright inFigure1. Theentireforming
processconsistsof the threestagesshowninFigure2: deepnecking,expansion,andtopnecking.
Eachof thesestagesconsists ofmultiplesteps thatcreatethe gradual andsmoothdiameter
changesalong thelengthofthe bottle. The deepneckingstage canconsistofupto six successive
applicationsof dieneckingprocesses.Theexpansionstage caninclude anothersix steps,andtop
neckingcanconsistofasmanyas30successive insertionsof dieneckingtools.
Acommonproblemduring sheetmetalformingis sheetmetal necking instability.Theforming
process,particularly during the expansionprocess,cancausethe sheet metal tostretchandthin,
whichcanmake the sheetmetallose its loadcarryingcapacity andconsequentlyresult infailure.
During earlystagesoftheprototypingprocess,sheetmetalsplittingwasobserveddueto sheet
metal necking instability.

Figure1. FormingacylinderintoaCokeContourbottleshapebydie neckingand

expansion.

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Afterexpansion

Afterdeep
necking

Aftertop
necking

Figure2. Intermediateshapes after deepnecking,expansion,andtopnecking.

Sheetmetalforminginstability istypically analyzedusing thestrainbasedforminglimit diagram
(FLD).TheFLDmonitorsthestrainhistoryduring aformingprocesswithrespecttothe sheet
metalFLDcriterion,whichis obtained bydetermining the strainhistorydependent limitstrains of
anumberofdifferentlyshapedspecimensusingadometestapparatus.Figure3showstest
specimensusedtodeterminelimitstrainsforaluminumsheetmetals. Figure4showsanexample
FLD.

175mm

Figure3. Testspecimensusedto determine limitstrains.

0.20
LocatedatFailure
NearFailureLocation
FarfromFailure
MajorStrain(Engineering)

0.15

0.10

0.05

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.00
0.01
0

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.06

MinorStrain(Engineering)

Figure4.FormingLimitDiagram(FLD)fromthedomeapparatustests

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However,theFLDcriterionissensitivetothestrainhistory.Because loading and unloading

occursrepeatedlyduring the deepnecking andexpansionstages,thestrainbasedFLDisnot
applicableintheformingoftheCokeContourbottle.
Anotherpopularfailurecriterionlesssensitivetothe loadinghistory istheMschenbornSonne
forminglimiteddiagram (MSFLD)(Mschenbornand Sonne 1975),whichpredictsfailureusing
theeffectiveaccumulativeplasticstrainversus the ratioofprincipalstrain rate.However,this
criterionwas also notapplicable,sincethesheetmetalunderwent compressionduringthedeep
neckingstageandwassubjectto tensionduringtheexpansionstage. Theeffectiveplasticstrain
formulausedintheMSFLDcriteriondoesnot distinguishthecompressivestrainfromtensile
strain,whichinturnwouldoverpredicttheMSFLDcriterionvalue forfailurepredictionof the
bottleforming.
Incontrast,thestressbasedforminglimitdiagram(FLSD)(Sakash2006) waslesssensitivetothe
loadinghistory andprovedtobethebestchoiceof the threecriteriaforthe bottle forming
problems. Table 1 illustratesthe differencesbetweenthese threecriteriawhenappliedto one
bottle forming process,withrespecttotwodifferentaluminumalloymaterials. Thisdatashows
thattheFLSDcriterionprovidesthemostmeaningfulresults(closetounity)attheendof the
expansionstage.Asaresult, theFLSDcriterionwasused inthe Abaqussimulationsforthe sheet
metalforminginstabilitypredictionand theforming toolingoptimization.
Table1.Threeforminglimitcriteria appliedto one bottle forming process.
MaxFLSDcriterion
valueattheendof
bottleexpansion

MaxMSFLDcriterion
valueattheendof
bottleexpansion

MaxFLDcriterion
valueattheendof
bottleexpansion

AluminumAlloy 1

0.954

3.567

0.191

AluminumAlloy 2

0.991

2.618

0.333

Rolledaluminumsheetmetalstypicallyexhibitanisotropy.However, testsof the AluminumAlloy

sheetmetal usedinthesimulations showedminoranisotropicbehaviors.Figure5 showsthe 0
degree(rollingdirection)and90degree stressstrainforthe AluminumAlloysheetmetal.Since
theanisotropywasminor, thevonMisesplastictheorywasusedaftertheyielding. This
simplificationalso eliminatedtheneedto findthelocaldirectionsinthealuminumcylinder
material,whichwasslightlydifferentfromtheoriginalsheetmetalusedinthematerialproperty
tests,sincethealuminumcylinderwasformedfromtheoriginalsheetmetal throughanumberof
formingprocesses,suchascupping.
AlsoshowninFigure5 istheassociatedFLSDstresscriterioncurve forthe Aluminum Alloy
sheetmetal.NotethatthestressbasedFLSDcriterionwasderivedfromthecorresponding strain
basedFLDcriterionandthe derivationcalculationusedthe same materialproperties thatwere
usedinthesimulation.

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Figure5. StressstraincurvesfortheAluminumAlloyused,andits FLSDcriterion.

Abaqus/Explicit wasusedtosimulate the bottleformingprocessusingthe FLSDcriterionandthe
modelsshowninFigure6.Asinthereal forming process,thealuminum cylinderinthemodel is
repeatedly pushed fromonedie to another, whichgraduallychangesitsdiameteratdifferent
heights andtransforms the sheetmetalcylindermodelinto the Coke Contourshape. The FLSD
criterionusedwasautomaticallycalculatedduring the simulations.

Formingdies
Aluminum
cylinder mesh

Beginning

Pushbottle
intoadie

Retreatfroma
dietofinishone
stepofforming

Figure6. The finite elementmodel, includingbottlecylinderandallneededdies.

Figure7showstheresultingFLSDcriterionvaluesat theendofdeepnecking,expansion,andtop
necking. TheFLSDcriteriontheorysetsunityastheonsetofinstability.Attheendofthe
expansionstage,theFLSDreachesthemaximumvalue. Thisreflectsthefactthat the FLSD(or
FLD)isprimarilyfortensilestretchinstability.Theexpansionstage causesthe sheet metal to
stretch.Consequently,it contributes mosttothemaximumFLSD,whichisthedecidingfactorfor
instability.Figure7also showsthatthemaximumFLSDcriterionvalue barely changesduringthe
topneckingstage. Thisisreasonable,since thetopneckingstage isprimarilyacompression
process.

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Endof deep
necking stage

Endof
expansion stage

Endof top
neckingstage

Figure7.FLSDcriterionvaluesattheendofdeepnecking,expansion,andtopnecking.
Itisimportanttonotethatfailureintherealworldisacomplexphenomenon thetheoryalways
includesassumptions andthetestdata supporting thetheory includeinevitableerrors, which
meansthat thereisno definite clearcut thresholdbetweenfailureandnonfailure. Acondition
withanFLSDcriterionvaluenearoraboveunity only indicatesthatfailureislikely.The analysis
resultsmustbecomparedwithrealworldobservationsto forma meaningfulconclusion.
UsingtheFLSDcriterioninAbaqus, the formingsimulationswereappliedtoanumberoftooling
profilesfordifferent bottleconfigurationstosearchforsuccessfulsolutions. Thesimulationshown
inFigure8 studiedtheeffectofwaistsizeonthemaximumFLSD.Threedifferent bottle waist
reductionswerestudied:15percent,11 percentand8.5percent. Thecorrespondingmaximum
FLSDcriterionvalueswere 1.029,0.994, and0.979,respectively.Theobservationsfromthereal
fieldtestsshowedthatthesuccessfulratesofformingwere 30percent,86percent, and94percent,
respectively.Thiscomparisonprovidedaverygoodstatisticalcorrelation,whichprovided
convincingevidence that theformingsimulation,alongwith the FLSDcriterion,was aneffective
toolforpredictingsheetmetalinstability.

15%waistreduction
30%successrate

11%waist
reduction
86%success
rate

8,5%waistreduction
94%successrate

Figure8. EffectofthreewaistsizesonmaximumFLSDcriterion.

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3. TopFinishFormingSimulation
The topfinishformingprocesschosenforthisprogramconsistedof thefive operationsshownin
Figure9: tamperbandforming,threading, precurling,trimming,and curling.

Figure9.Topfinishformingoperations:tamperband forming,threading, precurling,

trimming,and curling
Abaqus/Explicit wasusedtosimulatethefirstthree operations,sincethe focuswastostudyan
excessive thinningphenomenonobservedduring the precurlingoperation. To effectivelypredict
thefailureconditionof theprecurling operation, thetamperbandandthethreading operations
hadtobeincludedinthesimulationtoguaranteethatthecorrectconditionswereestablished.
Figure 10 showsthefinite elementmodelsetup.

Figure 10.Thefiniteelementmodelfortamperbandforming,threading,andprecurling.
Toreducethe computationalcost,onlynecessarytoolgeometryfeatureswere retainedinthe
model.Similarly,onlythetopportionoftheunformedbottlewasincludedinthemodelforthe
topfinishformingsimulation. Thealuminumbottle sectiontobeformedwasmodeledwithS4R
shellelements. Allthetoolingportionsweredefinedwithrigidbodies,eitherananalyticalrigid
surfaceora rigidbodyconstraintonsurfaceelements. Thebottle modelhadboundaryconditions
atthe bottomwiththe prescribedrotational velocity.Threesetsoftools(OP1,tamperband
forming OP2, threading andOP3, precurling) were engagedinsequenceinacontrolledmanner.
The actual physicalforming processtookabout4.5seconds,whichwastoo longforthe
simulation. Toreduce simulationdurationand computingtime, the bottle rotational velocitywas
increased inthesimulation.Massscalingwasalso applied.Studieswereperformedto verifythat
thesespeedupmeasureswouldnotimpactthe simulationresults. Figure 11 showsthe bottle mesh
withapproximately 10,000elementsforthe topportionofthe bottle,thegeometriesfortheinner

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andouterthreadformingdiepairsusedinOP2,andtheirsimplifiedfiniteelementrepresentation.
Asillustratedinthefigure,only thespiralsnakelikethreadportionwasusedinthe finiteelement
model,sinceonlythese surfacescontacted the sheet metal,giventhefactthat the tooling
geometriesstillconsume computational resourcesdespitetheirrigidbodyrepresentation. Figure
12illustratestheintendedengagementsofthetoolsduringtheOP1,OP2andOP3formingstages.

Figure11. Bottlemesh,OP2threadingformingdiegeometries, andtheir finite element

representations.
OP1engagement

OP2 engagement

OP3 engagement

Figure12.IntendedtoolengagementsduringOP1,OP2,andOP3formingstages.
The simulationuseda heattreatedaluminumsheet metal,whose stressstraincurve isshownin
Figure13.Notethatthematerialcurveusedaconstantslopeextrapolation(pinkcurve)attheend
oftestdata, inordertopreventexcessivedeformationduetothedefaultconstantvalue
extrapolation.
Stress(psi)

Stressstraincurveofaheattreatedaluminum

7 0 , 0 0 0
6 0 , 0 0 0
5 0 , 0 0 0
4 0 , 0 0 0
3 0 , 0 0 0
2 0 , 0 0 0
1 0 , 0 0 0
0
0

Strain(%)

Figure13. Heattreatedaluminum sheetmetal material curveusedinanalysis.

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Maxthinning
15%(15%)
(0.910)

Figure14.Simulationresultsascomparedtothe fieldmeasureddata(inparenthesis).
The resultsfromthesimulationof a0.013inchgagealuminumsheet metalwere comparedwith
thefieldmeasureddata showninparenthesisinFigure14. The simulationprovidedavery
accurate predictionof maximumthinning (15 percent) seenintherealworld andvalidated the
simulationtechniquesforfuturenumericalvirtualtests,whichcouldbeusedtofinetune
parameters used tooptimizetheproductionline.

4. CuppingSimulation
Theformingprocessformakingthecup iscalled drawreversedraw,whichbends theblankintoa
smallerdiametercupintwosteps.Inthe firststep,toolsengagetheblanktodrawaninitialcup.In
thesecondstep,adifferentsetoftoolsturn theinitialcupinsideout.Duringthe initial
prototyping, the finishedcupsshowedunacceptable amountsofwrinkling,asshowninFigure 15.
The intuitivesolutiontoalleviatewrinkleswastoincreasethemetalholddownpressure, which
wouldalsoincreasethegrippingshearforcetothesheetmetal,butthiscouldcause sidewall
thinning.

Figure15.Wrinklinginhalfformedcup(left,right)andsatisfactorycup(middle).
Abaqus/Explicit simulated thereallife cupformingprocessby replicating thewrinklingand
thinningobservedintherealworld. Consequently,it pavedthewayto study the effectsof
adjustableparameters throughsimulation, aswellas modify thetoolgeometries asnecessary.

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Figure 16 showsthetooling die setassemblywithallrelevantpieces.Figure 17 illustratesthe

drawreversedraw cupformingprocess.Thegreenelementinthediagram represents asegment
(slice)of the aluminumblank. Theformingsequencestartswiththe blankanddraw pushingdown
theblank,withthe lowerpressurepad (LPP) holding downthealuminumblank onitsouter
region. The downwardmovementofbothblankanddraw andlowerpressurepad draw theinitial
cup. Thefinalcupisformedasthe drawpunchpushesthecenteroftheinitialcupandturnsit
insideout. Duringthisformingsequence,the cupssidewall experiencesthickeningandthinning.
Figure 18 showsthe cupswallthicknessdistributionmeasuredalongthe cups heightafterthe
fullformingsequence,startingwiththe initialmetalblankgauge readingof 0.0140 inches.

Upper
Pressurepad
(UPP)

Blank&Draw

Cutedge
DrawPunch

Lower
PressurePad
(LPP)

DrawRing

Figure16.Crosssectionviewofcuppingtoolingdiagram.
punch

blank&draw

UPP

LPP
drawring

time=0.0

time=0.08

time=0.12

time=0.15

time=0.18

time=0.22

Figure17.Sequenceofdrawreversedraw cupformingprocess.

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GrainOrientation
Location
from
Bottom
(inch)

0Deg
45Deg

2.36
2.16
1.96
1.77
1.57
1.37
1.18
.98
.78
.59
.39
.19

90Deg

R
0.0156
0.0152
0.0148
0.0144

0Deg

0.0140

90Deg

0.0136

45Deg

0.0132
0.0128
0.0124
0.0120
R

0.197 0.394 0.591 0.787 0.984 1.181 1.378 1.575 1.772 1.969 2.165 2.362

Figure18. Measureddistributionofthickness alongtheheight after cupforming.

Studieswereperformed todetermineappropriatemodelingdimensionsand indicatedthat a15
degree segmentofblanksheet metalwithapproriateboundaryandloadingconditions was
sufficient to understand the wrinklingandthinning phenomenaduetothesymmetricalnatureof
thefinalcup.Thisprovidedhighmodelingefficiencyandfaststudyturnaroundtime.Figure 19
showsthemeshusingS4Rshellelementsforthe15degreesegmentblankfiniteelementmodel.
Alltoolingprofilesweremodeledwithanalyticalrigidsurfaces.Movementsofalltool
componentswere eithercontrolled accordingto therealtoolingconditons ordriventhrough
contactwithothercomponents. Connectorelementswereusedtoprovide necessary stopsand
dampingtoreflecttherealmachinemechanism. Thelowerandupperpressurepads featuredload
controltorepresentthe pneumatic pressurecontrol usedinreallife.Anecessarymasseffectwas
includedinthemodel.

Figure19.A15degreesegmentofthe finiteelementmeshusingS4Rshellelements.
The Abaqus/Explicit simulationsduplicated thewrinklingandthinningseeninreallife.Figure 20
showstheoutofplaneplasticstraincontouranddeformationplots, whichclearlyindicatethe
wrinkling. Thewrinkling occurswhenthe final cup isdrawnasthe drawpunchpushesdownthe
metal blank duringthesecondstepof the drawreversedraw process.

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Figure20.WrinklingrevealedbyAbaqus/Explicitsimulations.
Thesimulationsalso duplicatedthethinning. Figure 21 showsthethicknessdistributionprofile for
thecup andshowsthatthe thicknessvariesafterforming fromtheinitial0.014inchthickness.
Figure 21 alsoshowsacomparisonbetweenthesimulationresultsandthe realmeasurement. Note
that thedifference betweenthe real measurement and thepredictioninthethinnestregionisabout
onepercent,whichcouldbeattributedto unknownsorunaccountedparameterssuchasfriction
and pneumatic pressure. However,thetrends from the simulationand the real measurement were
veryclose,whichwassufficientforprocessoptimization.
0.0140"Sheet finalCupThickness
0.0142
test_data_90deg
0.0140
A3_STHaverage
)0.0138
in
(
s
s
e0.0136
n
k
ic
h
t
0.0134
0.0132
0.0130
0.000

0.100

0.200

0.300

0.400

0.500

0.600

height(in)

Figure21.Thicknessdistributionafterforming andcomparisonwithrealmeasurement.
Afterthe initialcorrelations,thefocuswasshiftedtotheinvestigationoftoolgeometryanddesign
parameterchangesusing DesignofExperiments(DOE) approaches.Key factorialswereidentified
andsimulatedasshowninFigure 22. Two configurationswereused: a flat upperpressurepad
(UPP)configurationand acontouredUPPconfiguration. ThecontouredUPPconfigurationhadan
additionalradiusofR2inthecornerof theUPP.Onekeychange wastovarythe radiusR1inthe
cornerofthe drawingring, andtheotherwasto changetheUPPcornerradiusR2. Acrossthethree
variationsofR1,A1,A3,andA5,theradiusR1increasedfromA1toA5,withA3beingthebase
configuration. Similarly,forthethreecategoriesof the contouredUPPcornerradiusR2,B,D,and
F,theradiuswasalsoinascendingorderfromBtoF.

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DrawSleevevs.UpperPressurePadTestMatrix
t=.0140"
Flat
R1

A1
A3
A5

ContouredUPP(R2)
B1
B3
B5

D1
D3
D5

F1
F3
F5

FlatUPP

ContouredUPP

A3isthebase
configuration

Figure22. KeyfactorialsintheDOEstudy.
Figure 23 showsthe deformedshapesfromthe simulations. Factorial A1and factorialB1
providedimprovedresultsforwrinklingprevention, asdid factorialsD3andF5. Thereductionof
wrinkling wasattributedtotheincreased metaltensionandstructuralstiffnessinducedby the
tighterturningradius onthecornerof the drawring. ThecontouredUPPcornerprovided
additionalholdingsurface areathatincreasedthestiffnessandmetaltensionandfurtherprevented
wrinkling.However,thesimulationsalsosuggestedthat the useof combinedcountermeasures,
reducing the cornerradiusand using the contouredUPPcorner, did notdeliveradditionalbenefits.

B1

A3(Baseline)

D3

A1
A5

F5

Figure23.FormingresultsfromDOEstudies.
Oneadditionalbenefitofthecupformingsimulationswas informationonhowthinning was
relatedto frictionandpressuresonthe UPP.Theinvestigationshowedthatthere wasadelicate
balanceamong thepressureonthe UPPand thinningandwrinkling. Specifically,higherpressure
onthe UPPcouldbeusefulforsuppressingwrinkling. However,the higherpressure couldalso
cause morefrictionalgrippingforce onthe sheet metal, whichcouldmake the drawpunchtool
causetoomuchsheetmetal thinningduringthereversedrawprocess.Thiskindofdelicate
relationship also emphasizedtheimportance andbenefitofthenumericalsimulations.

5. Conclusions
The techniquesandexamplespresentedin thispaperclearly demonstrated thatAbaqus/Explicit
wasausefultoolforexpeditingandoptimizing many kindsofmetalpackageformingprocesses.

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The projectworkdiscussedhere successfullyaddressedinatimelymanneranumberofrealworld

issues,suchas the necessityfora highsuccessrate duringthe formingprocess,predictableload
carryingcapacity,and goodsurface aesthetics. Toachievethesegoalsinthe faceoftime
consuming andcostly toolredesignandtestprocesses,numericalsimulationswithAbaquswere
powerfulvirtualtestgrounds thatmodeledtheactualformingprocessandincorporated needed
theories, likestressbasedforminglimitdiagrams (FLSD).Additionally,the numericalsimulations
forthethreecasespresented inthispapercorrelatedverywellwithphysicaltestresults.
Mostof thesolutionsdevelopedthroughAbaqus/Explicit simulationswere implementedona
bottlepilotproductionline,resultinginthereductionof thepackagesdevelopmenttime of about
75percent, combinedwitha 50 percent reductionincost.Thelearningfromthiswork isstill
beingusedinactivemetalpackagingprojectsbeyondaluminumbottlesand iscontinuing to
inspireengineersatTheCocaColaCompanytoinnovatebeyondtheconsumers imagination.

6. Acknowledgements
Theauthors wouldliketo express theirgratitudeto The CocaColaCompany forsponsoring this
projectandforalwaysbeinginpursuitof newtechnologiesthatwill make consumershappier.
This paperwasa result ofalotof teamwork. Theauthorswouldliketoexpresstheirspecial
gratefulnessandacknowledgementsto GopalaswamyRajesh,KatieAllen,KarinaEspinel,John
Adams,ScottBiondichandDougDichting at The CocaColaCompanyMikeAtkinson, Kevin
Gillest and NathanLewisatOmnitechInternational BradKinseyatthe UniversityofNew
Hampshireand MinLi,YanXu,ViktorWilhelmy,RyanPaige,RussMills,and DavidBarnesat
SIMULIACentral.

7. References
1. DassaultSystmesSimuliaCorp., 2008. AbaqusAnalysisUsersManual (June).
2. Sakash,A., S.Moondra, and B.Kinsey,2006. Effectofyieldcriteriononnumerical
simulationresultsusingastressbasedfailurecriterion. JournalofEngineeringMaterials
andTechnology128(July).
3. Mschenborn, W., and H.Sonne, 1975.InfluenceoftheStrainPathontheFormingLimits
ofSheetMetal, ArchivfurdasEisenhttenwesen46,no. 9: 597602.

2009SIMULIACustomerConference

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