A numerical approach for the modelling of forming limits in hot incremental forming of AZ31 magnesium alloy

Davide Campanella,Livan Fratini,Gianluca Buffa,Ernesto Lo Valvo

doi:10.1007/s00170-021-07059-6

Davide Campanella, Livan Fratini + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-021-07059-6

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Abstract

Magnesium alloys, because of their good specific material strength, can be considered attractive by different industry fields, as the aerospace and the automotive one. However, their use is limited by the poor formability at room temperature. In this research, a numerical approach is proposed in order to determine an analytical expression of material formability in hot incremental forming processes. The numerical model was developed using the commercial software ABAQUS/Explicit. The Johnson-Cook material model was used, and the model was validated through experimental measurements carried out using the ARAMIS system. Different geometries were considered with temperature varying in a range of 25–400 °C and wall angle in a range of 35–60°. An analytical expression of the fracture forming limit, as a function of temperature, was established and finally tested with a different geometry in order to assess the validity.

Highlights

The growing demand for reduced pollution due to emissions from transport systems has motivated research towards the development of high-strength lightweight alloys with the intent to reduce the structural weight of vehicles and, as a consequence, the fuel consumption.With this aim, among the materials and manufacturing processes most studied in recent decades, magnesium alloys and incremental forming (IF) of sheet metal parts certainly stand out; the former can be considered a good substitute to aluminum alloys in structural applications due to their very low density combined with good strength
Among the materials and manufacturing processes most studied in recent decades, magnesium alloys and incremental forming (IF) of sheet metal parts certainly stand out; the former can be considered a good substitute to aluminum alloys in structural applications due to their very low density combined with good strength
This problem has been partly overcome by the use of magnesium alloyed with aluminum, zinc and manganese, e.g., AZ31B, as studied by Franchitti et al [2], who focused on the optimization of superplastic free forming test of an AZ31 magnesium alloy sheet

Summary

Introduction

The growing demand for reduced pollution due to emissions from transport systems has motivated research towards the development of high-strength lightweight alloys with the intent to reduce the structural weight of vehicles and, as a consequence, the fuel consumption. With this aim, among the materials and manufacturing processes most studied in recent decades, magnesium alloys and incremental forming (IF) of sheet metal parts certainly stand out; the former can be considered a good substitute to aluminum alloys in structural applications due to their very low density combined with good strength. Neugebauer et al [4] overcame this problem using high-temperature processing, as the increase of temperature favors the creation of new sliding surfaces, enhancing the formability of the material

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