The use of Finite Element (FE) simulation software to adequately predict the outcome of sheet metal forming processes is crucial to enhancing
the efficiency and lowering the development time of such processes, whilst reducing costs involved in trial-and-error prototyping. Recent focus
on the substitution of steel components with aluminum alloy alternatives in the automotive and aerospace sectors has increased the need to
simulate the forming behavior of such alloys for ever more complex component geometries. However these alloys, and in particular their high
strength variants, exhibit limited formability at room temperature, and high temperature manufacturing technologies have been developed to form
them. Consequently, advanced constitutive models are required to reflect the associated temperature and strain rate effects. Simulating such
behavior is computationally very expensive using conventional FE simulation techniques.
This paper presents a novel Knowledge Based Cloud FE (KBC-FE) simulation technique that combines advanced material and friction models
with conventional FE simulations in an efficient manner thus enhancing the capability of commercial simulation software packages. The
application of these methods is demonstrated through two example case studies, namely: the prediction of a material's forming limit under hot
stamping conditions, and the tool life prediction under multi-cycle loading conditions.