Modeling of Anisotropic Suede-like Material During the Thermoforming Process

G.Lelli[1], M. Pinsagli[1] , and E. di Maio[2]
[1]Alcantara S.p.A. (Application Development Center), Nera Montoro, Italy
[2]University of Naples "Federico II" (Department of Materials and Production Engineering), Naples, Italy
Published in 2011

Physical and mechanical studies of Alcantara® have shown very pronounced anisotropic nonlinear features. Using constitutive equations borrowed from the modelling of biological tissues like tendons and/or arteries under the form of hyperelastic free-energy functions, a good representation of such mechanical features can be obtained.

In particular, a combination between the optimization module and a modified hyperelastic model in COMSOL Multiphysics® can be used to determine the macroscopic mechanical parameters and to apply them to the simulation of the behaviour of Alcantara® when it undergoes high-temperature processes like thermoforming.