Effects of electric field on recrystallization texture evolution in cold-rolled high-purity aluminum sheet during annealing

The effects of an external DC(direct current)electric field on recrystallization texture evolution in the cold-rolled aluminum sheets with 99.99%purity were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction techniques.The cold-rolled high-purity aluminum sheets were annealed for 60 min at 200,300 and 400℃,respectively with and without an external DC electric field of 800 V/mm.The results show that with DC electric field,the recrystallization cube texture is strengthened at the stage of grain growth. Possible reason for the strengthening of the recrystallization cube texture with the applied electric field may be attributed to both selected nucleation and selected growth of cube oriented crystal nuclei.

Effect of water quenching processing parameters on the mechanical properties of a cold-rolled C-Mn-containing steel sheet

Cold-rolled advanced high-strength steel sheets have become the material of choice for the automotive industry because of their unique attributes of high strength and balanced mechanical properties.High-hydrogen gas jet cooling and water quenching are the most commonly used ultrafast cooling technologies for producing martensite-containing high-strength steel sheets.The water quenching technology ensures the fastest industrial cooling rate of 1 000 K/s;therefore,it has the highest potential with respect to saving alloys.In this study,the water quenching of a C-Mn-containing steel sheet is simulated during continuous annealing to investigate the effect of water quenching and tempering parameters on its mechanical properties.The results reveal that at low quenching temperatures,the strength of the steel sheet decreases as the soaking temperature increases.However,at high quenching temperatures,a high soaking temperature corresponds to increased strength after quenching,regardless of whether the material was austenitized in the single austenite zone or the inter-critical zone.Therefore,a high quenching temperature always results in a high strength and a high yield ratio after quenching.Low-temperature overaging(tempering) considerably influences the yield strength and yield ratio,and the extent of this influence is correlated with the soaking temperature.

Effect of annealing parameters on mechanical properties of cold-rolled martensitic steel sheets

Cold-rolled martensitic steel sheets produced on continuous annealing lines with water quenching facility,have advantages of high strength and low alloying element contents.These are in good accordance with the trend of light-weighting and fuel saving for automotive steel.In this article,a cold-rolled martensitic steel is studied to investigate the effect of annealing parameters on its mechanical properties.It is found that the quenching temperature and the slow cooling speed as well as the overageing temperature have significant influence on the strength of the experimental steel.The temperature zone at which the austenite decomposition is slow or has not started may be chosen as the quenching temperature to ensure the steel’s strength stability.The slow cooling speed also influences the steel’s strength greatly.A high cooling rate will lead to significantly higher strength.Tempering would decrease the steel’s tensile strength but would increase its yield strength.

Development and application of Baosteel's cold-rolled martensitic steel sheets

Cold-rolled martensitic steel sheets are becoming widely applied in the automotive industry because of their ultra-high strength,which may result in satisfactory weight reduction. The grades of martensitic steel sheets are classified based on their tensile strength,which ranges from 980 to 1 700 MPa. The main applications include a series of structural parts of uniform cross-section or simple shape,such as bumper beams,door beams and door sills,etc. The study and development of cold-rolled martensitic steel sheets date back to 2007 in Baosteel,and some grades became commercially available in 2009. By 2015,Baosteel had commercially supplied thousands of tons of these steel sheets with tensile strength up to 1 400 MPa. Currently,1 500 MPa martensitic steel sheet is commercially available and 1 700 MPa martensitic steel sheet has been successfully produced. The process technology and application guides of Basoteel ＇s cold-rolled martensitic steels are summarized and analyzed in order to assist ongoing research and ensure correct applications of these ultra-high strength steel sheets.

Properties of ultra-low carbon,cold-rolled sheet steels containing titanium or boron for use in enameling

Ultra-low carbon（ULC）,cold-rolled sheet steels for porcelain enameling containing alloys of titanium and boron are studied. The microstructure,mechanical properties,inclusions,and precipitates of the sheet steels are analyzed. The hydrogen permeation time of the sheet steels as-annealed and after skin-passed or cold-rolled at different reductions are measured. It is show n that the sheet steels possess different features of enameling properties in hydrogen permeability,fishscale resistance,and pinhole resistance.

Analysis of bulging process of aluminum alloy by overlapping sheet metal and its formability

The influences of strength coefficient K, work hardening exponent n and thickness t of the overlapping sheet on bulging process are analyzed based on hardening material model. Also, bulging experiments are carried out by taking the aluminum alloy LF21 as formed sheet metal, and selecting overlapping sheet with different thicknesses and material properties, by which accuracy of the above analysis result is verified in the aspects of geometric shape, thickness distribution and limit bulging height. The results show that higher strength coefficient K, larger work hardening exponent n and proper thickness of the overlapping sheet are helpful to improve the formability and forming uniformity of formed sheet metal.

Feature of flow stress of aluminum sheet used for can during hot compression

The flow stress feature of aluminum sheet used for pressure can during plastic deformation at elevated temperature was studied by isothermal compression test using Gleeble 1 500 dynamic materials testing machine. The experimental results show that the steady state deformation is remarkable when the material is deformed in the temperature range of 350～500 ℃ at strain rates within the range of 10 -2 ～10.0 s -1 . The material is sensitive to positive strain rate. A hyperbolic sine relationship is found to correlate well the flow stress with the strain rate, and an Arrhenius relationship with the temperature. Semi empirical constitutive equations of the flow stress are derived from all experimental data for tested material during plastic deformation at elevated temperature by polyelement linear regression analysis. [

Application of new VBHF optimization strategy to improve formability of automobile panels with aluminum alloy sheet

A VBHF(Variable Blank Holder Force) optimization strategy was employed to determine the optimal time-variable and spatial-variable BHF trajectories,aiming at improving the formability of automobile panels with aluminum alloy sheet.The strategy was implemented based on adaptive simulation to calculate the critical wrinkling BHF for each segmented binder of the Numisheet' 05 deck lid in a single round of simulation.The thickness comparison of the stamped part under optimal VBHF and constant BHF shows that the variance of the four sections is decreased by 70%,44%,64% and 61%,respectively,which indicates significant improvement in thickness distribution and variation control.The investigation through strain path comparison reveals the fundamental reason of formability improvement.The study proves the applicability of the new VBHF optimization strategy to complex parts with aluminum alloy sheet.

Formation mechanism and control of aluminum layer thickness fluctuation in embedded aluminum-steel composite sheet produced by cold roll bonding process

The influences of rolling reduction and aluminum sheet initial thickness(AIT)on the thickness fluctuation of aluminum layer(TFA)of embedded aluminum?steel composite sheet produced by cold roll bonding were investigated,the formation mechanism of TFA was analyzed and method to improve the thickness uniformity of the aluminum layer was proposed.The results showed that when the reduction increased,TFA increased gradually.When the reduction was lower than40%,AIT had negligible effect on the TFA,while TFA increased with the decrease of AIT when the reduction was higher than40%.The non-uniformities of the steel surface deformation and the interfacial bonding extent caused by the work-hardened steel surface layer,were the main reasons for the formation of TFA.Adopting an appropriate surface treatment can help to decrease the hardening extent of the steel surface for improving the deformation uniformity during cold roll bonding process,which effectively improved the aluminum thickness uniformity of the embedded aluminum/steel composite sheets.

Tensile behavior of AA3104 aluminum sheets at low deformation degree

The texture of a rolled AA3104 aluminum sheet was measured by the X-ray transmission method. The Lankford values or r values （ratio of plastic strain） and yield strengths in directions of 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90° to RD （rolling direction） of the sheet were tested during tensile loading at a strain of 2%. γ values were predicted by the Sachs model and the reaction stress model in consideration of the measured texture. The simulated results indicate that r values calculated by the Sachs model are more exactly approaching with the experimental values on the whole than those predicted by the reaction stress model. The deformation behavior of the AA3104 aluminum sheet reveals characteristic predicted by the Sachs model, which should be resulted from the sheet geometry different from bulk material as well as the low tensile deformation degree.

Simulated and experimental investigation of stretch sheet forming of commercial AA1200 aluminum alloy

The simulation and experimental results obtained from stretching test of a commercial sheet of AA1200 aluminum alloy were compared and evaluated. Uniaxial tensile tests were carried out to obtain the required input parameters for simulation. Finite element analysis of the forming process was carried out using Abaqus/Explicit by considering von Mises and Hill-1948 yield criteria. Simulation results including punch force and strain distribution were compared and validated with the experimental results. The results reveal that using anisotropic yield criteria for simulation has a better match in both cases with the experiments.

Application and comparison of different elastoplastic constitutive models for springback simulation of aluminum sheet forming

Springback is considered to be one of the most important problems in aluminum sheet stamp forming, leading to deviation from the designed target shape and assembly defects. In this study, a springback simulation model based on the benchmark of a Jaguar Land Rover aluminum panel is established. We embed several elastoplastic constitutive models （ Barlat＇ s 89, Barlat＇ s YLD2000, Yoshida-Uemori （YU） ＋ Barlat＇ s 89, and YU ＋ Barlat＇ s YLD2000） in the finite element model,in order to discuss the influence of the constitutive model selection on springback prediction in aluminum sheet forming.

Fracture prediction in non-isothermal viscous pressure bulging of aluminum alloy sheet using ductile fracture criterion

The failure of AA3003 aluminum alloy sheet metal was predicted for non-isothermal viscous pressure bulging (VPB). Utilizing the coupled thermo-mechanical finite element method combined with ductile fracture criterion, the calculations were carried out for non-isotherm VPB at various temperatures and the influences of the initial temperature of viscous medium on failure mode of bulge specimens were investigated. The results show that the failure modes are different for the non-isothermal VPB with different initial temperatures of viscous medium. For the non-isothermal VPB of AA3003 aluminum alloy sheet with initial temperature of 250 ℃, when the initial temperature of viscous medium ranges from 150 to 180 ℃, the formability of sheet metal can be improved to a full extent. The validity of the predictions is examined by comparing with experimental results.

Measurement of friction coefficient in aluminum sheet warm forming

Aluminum alloy sheets are used more and more to manufacture auto panels. Because the friction behavior is very complicated, it is necessary to study the friction during the aluminum sheet warm forming process. The author has designed a new probe sensor based on an online tribotest method which directly measures friction coefficient in the forming process. Experiments of cup drawing have been conducted and the friction coefficients under different forming conditions have been measured. The results indicate that the forming parameters, such as forming temperature, blankholding force and lubrication status have great effect upon the friction coefficient.

Air cushion furnace technology for heat treatment of high quality aluminum alloy auto body sheet

The process characteristics of heat treatment of aluminum alloy auto body sheet and the working principle of air cushion furnace were introduced.The process position and irreplaceable role of air cushion furnace in the aluminum alloy auto body sheet production was pointed out after the difficulty and key points in the whole production process of auto body sheet were studied.Then the development process of air cushion furnace line of aluminum alloy sheet was reviewed,summarized and divided to two stages.Based on the research of air cushion furnace,the key technology of it was analyzed,then the key points on process,equipment and control models of air cushion furnace for aluminum alloy auto body sheet in future were put forward.With the rapid development of automotive industry,there will be certainly a new upsurge of research and application of air cushion furnace for heat treatment of aluminum alloy auto body sheet.

Novel algorithm for determining optimal blankholder forces in deep drawing of aluminum alloy sheet

Wrinkling and fracture are main defects in sheet metal forming of aluminum alloy sheet,which can be reduced or even eliminated by manipulating a suitable blank -holder forces (BHF). But,it is difficult to attain the optimum BHF during she et metal forming. A new optimization algorithm integrating the finite element me thod (FEM) and adaptive response surface method is presented to determinate the optimal BHFs in deep drawing of aluminum rectangular box. To assure convergence,the trust region modes management strategies are used to adjust the move limit of design spaces. Finally,the optimum results of rectangular box deep drawing a re given. Verification experiments are performed to verify the optimal result.

Influence of melt-treatment on material constants of aluminum sheet used for easy-open can during hot deformation

The isothermal compression test at elevated temperature was carried out for aluminum sheets prepared by different melt-treatment methods with aid of dynamic hot/mechanical simulation experimental technology. The material constants of hot deformation have been solved by multivariate regression directly. Influence of metallurgy factors on the constants was analyzed. The results show that at some strain, the relationship of sheets’ flow stress with deformation temperature and strain rate can be expressed more suitably with Arrhenius equation modified by hyperbolic sine function. Structure factor A1, stress-level coefficient α, strain rate sensibility exponent m and deformation activation energy Q all increase with increment of strain, while stress exponent n decreases gradually. The bigger α value or the smaller n value is, the more obvious the dynamic softening is, but the α value will increase for the metallurgy defects existing in the sheets. Influence of melt-treatment on Q depends upon the synthesis effect of all kinds of metallurgy defects. The Q and n values of the sheet prepared by high-efficient melt-treatment are the least, while the m value is the biggest, and the sheet can deform easily and evenly.

In-plane anisotropy of 1545 aluminum alloy sheet

The microstructures and the tensile mechanical properties in the rolling plane of 1545 aluminum alloy sheet at different orientations with respect to the rolling direction were studied by means of tensile test, X-ray diffractometer(XRD), optical microscope and transmission electron microscope. The in-plane anisotropy of tensile mechanical properties was calculated and the inverse pole figures of the rolling plane, transversal section and longitudinal section were obtained by Harris method. The results show that the 1545 Al alloy sheet has remarkable in-plane anisotropy of mechanical properties and the main texture component is {110}〈112〉 texture. On the basis of the model that regards the sheet containing only {110}〈112〉 texture as a monocrystal, the relationship of in-plane anisotropy and the anisotropy of crystallography was analyzed. The study shows that it is the combined effects of the anisotropy of crystallography and microstructures that cause the in-plane anisotropy of mechanical properties, but the main cause is the crystallographic texture.

Subsequent yield loci of 57540 aluminum alloy sheet

Complex loading paths were realized with cruciform specimens and biaxial loading testing machine. Experimental method for determining the subsequent yield locus of sheet metal was established. With this method,the subsequent yield loci of 5754O aluminum alloy sheet were obtained under complex loading paths. Theoretical subsequent yield loci based on Yld2000-2d yield criterion and three kinds of hardening modes were calculated and compared with the experimental results. The results show that the theoretical subsequent yield loci based on mixed hardening mode describe the experimental subsequent yield loci well,whereas isotropic hardening mode,which is widely used in sheet metal forming fields,predicts values larger than the experimental results. Kinematic hardening mode predicts values smaller than the experimental results and its errors are the largest.

Evaluation of forming limit in viscous pressure forming of automotive aluminum alloy 6k21-T4 sheet

A ductile fracture criterion is introduced into numerical simulation to predict viscous pressure forming limit of the automotive body aluminum alloy 6k21-T4. The material constant in the ductile fracture criterion is determined by the combination of the viscous pressure bulging (VPB) test with numerical simulation. VPB tests of the aluminum alloy sheet are carried out by using various elliptical dies with different ratios of major axis to minor axis(β), and the bugling processes are simulated by the aid of the finite element method software LS-DYNA3D. On the basis of the stress and strain calculated from numerical simulations, the forming limits of bulging specimens obtained are predicted by the ductile fracture criterion, and compared with experimental results. The fracture initiation site and the minimal thickness predicted by the ductile fracture criterion are in good agreement with the experimental results.