ARANIA S.A., located in Amorebieta (Bizkaia) and founded in 1940, is a leading manufacturer in Southern Europe for cold rolled high and low carbon steel, as well as high-yield strength alloyed and micro-alloyed steel sectors. The company counts with the most advanced technology currently available on the market to provide a competitive product which is adapted to its customer’s needs, a working force of around 170 people and a maximum production capacity of 140,000 tons per year.
ARANIA Industrial demonstrator

Sector: Automotive
Case study description
Effect of material fracture toughness in fineblanking operations
A study of the behaviour of the C45 steel grade for fine blanking applications was performed through fracture toughness evaluation using the Essential Work of Fracture (EWF) methodology. The aim of this Case Study was to find a complementary test able to discriminate OK (adequate behaviour in fine blanking applications) from NO-OK material (with inadequate behaviour due to the presence of defects) when standard tensile tests are not suitable for it.
To do so, samples of C45 material from two different manufacturing routes were chosen to perform EWF tests and obtain the load vs. displacement curves. The fracture surfaces were also analysed. Metallographic analysis (by optical and Scanning Electron Microscopy -SEM) were performed as complementary tests to better understand the EWF results.
The obtained results showed that the Essential Work of Fracture value was higher on OK materials. In addition, the fracture surfaces analysis revealed a brittle behaviour in NO-OK samples in comparison to the ductile behaviour showed by the OK samples. The EWF test approach seems to be sensible enough to determine material behaviour differences in fine blanking operations, but additional tests should be performed to make reliable conclusions.
“Case study results show that Essential Work of Fracture tests could be used to determine material behaviour differences in fine blanking processes”
Leire Gonzalez, Head of Product & Process Technology, ARANIA S.A.
FormPlanet advanced testing methodologies applied
Fracture toughness evaluation
Fracture toughness evaluation of thin metal sheets (1-3 mm of thickness), using mechanically notched or fatigue pre-cracked DENT specimens, and thick sheets (>3mm of thickness) by bending tests of fatigue pre-cracked SENB specimens, following fast and affordable methodologies based on the Essential Work of Fracture (EWF). The EWF is the most suitable fracture parameter to rationalise crack-related problems in high-strength metal sheets, such as edge fracture or crash behaviour.
