Application of *MAT_258 for Bending and Crushing of Extruded Aluminum Profiles Using Shell Elements

*MAT_258 (*MAT_NON_QUADRATIC_FAILURE) is a through-thickness failure regularization model for shells in LS-DYNA®. In this model the failure parameter is computed as a function of the size of the element as well as its bending-to-membrane loading ratio. The constitutive behavior and fracture surface in *MAT_258 are represented by well-known analytical expressions which simplify the calibration process. This means that ductile failure initiation can be predicted in thin-walled metallic structures with minimal calibration effort and cost. In this study, we go through the calibration process of *MAT_258 for two aluminum alloys before the calibrated material cards are applied in shell element simulations of double-chamber aluminum extrusions in both three-point bending and crushing.