Nowadays, full-field measurement methods are largely used to acquire the strain field developed by heterogeneous mechanical tests. Recent material parameters identification strategies based on a single heterogeneous test have been proposed considering that an inhomogeneous strain field can lead to a more complete mechanical characterization of the sheet metals. The purpose of this work is the design of a heterogeneous test promoting an enhanced mechanical behavior characterization of thin metallic sheets, under several strain paths and strain amplitudes. To achieve this goal, a design optimization strategy finding the appropriate specimen shape of the heterogeneous test by using either B-Splines or cubic splines was developed. The influence of using approximation or interpolation curves, respectively, was investigated in order to determine the most effective approach for achieving a better shape design. The optimization process is guided by an indicator criterion which evaluates, quantitatively, the strain field information provided by the mechanical test. Moreover, the design of the heterogeneous test is based on the resemblance with the experimental reality, since a rigid tool leading to uniaxial loading path is used for applying the displacement in a similar way as universal standard testing machines. The results obtained reveal that the optimization strategy using B-Splines curve approximation led to a heterogeneous test providing larger strain field information for characterizing the mechanical behavior of sheet metals.
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