Determination of Flow Curve and Plastic Anisotropy of Medium-thick Metal Plate:Experiments and Inverse Analysis

Sheet bulk metal forming is widely used for medium thick metal plate due to its convenience in the manu- facture of accurately finished 3D functional components. To obtain precise anisotropy and flow curve of metal plate is a prerequisite for correct simulation of sheet bulk metal forming processes. Inverse analysis of compression test was introduced here to evaluate the sensitivity of different flow curve models and geometric influence of compression test specimen. Besides, a methodology was proposed to compute plastic anisotropic coefficients of Hill quadratic yield cri- terion, which is based on the ratios of flow curves obtained by inverse analysis of compression tests using specimens cut in six directions on the medium-thick metal plate. The obtained flow curves and anisotropic coefficients were compared with those calculated from tensile tests. Flow curves based on inverse analysis of compression tests cover the curves of the tensile tests well, while the anisotropic coefficients are different, especially for the coefficient relat- ed to the RT45 direction. To estimate the effectiveness of the proposed method, the calculated material properties and those based on the traditional tensile tests were applied in a rim-hole process simulation. The simulation results based on the material properties from inverse analysis of compression tests accorded with the tested properties better.

Reduction of die roll height in duplex gears through a sheet-bulk metal forming method

In the existing shearing processes for fabricating parts such as duplex gears, die roll is difficult to avoid. Accordingly, a method based on sheet-bulk metal forming for fabricating a duplex gear with extremely small die roll in one stroke is proposed in the current work. The process could be divided into three stages according to the forming features: upsetting and shearing stage, lateral extrusion stage, and local filling stage. The die roll appeared in the shearing stage, which could be reduced in the subsequent extrusion and local filling stages. To reveal the underground mechanism, material flows under two situations, as a key factor to influence the forming quality, were compared and investigated. The results revealed that by controlling material flow, one could avoid the defects and reduce the die roll.