Three-dimensional finite element analysis of cold expansion of adjacent holes

Three-dimensional elasto-plastic finite element analysis was conducted to evaluate the development and growth of the plastic zone and unloading residual stresses resulting from the cold expansion of two adjacent holes. The contact between the mandrel and the hole was modelled using special contact elements. The work examined the effect of the geometry of two adjacent cold-expanded holes upon the resulting three-dimensional residual stress field. Both simultaneous and sequential expansion of the two holes was considered. It was shown that the compressive residual stress varies across the thickness of the specimen and that two-dimensional finite element models are incapable of accurately predicting the residual stresses resulting from the cold expansion process. It was further shown that sequential expansion reduces dramatically the compressive residual stresses. The validity of the developed finite element model was verified with existing experimental results.