An upset geometry sequence for determining the formability limits in bulk forming

Abstract

This paper presents an upset geometry sequence capable of providing strain loading paths from uniaxial compression to biaxial stretching. Combination of digital image correlation and experimental force vs. time evolutions allows determining the fracture strains and the instantaneous slope of the strain loading paths at the instant of cracking in principal strain space. Fractography using scanning electron microscopy helps identifying the crack opening modes corresponding to the different fracture strains. Results show that the proposed upset geometry sequence allows creating a new testing methodology for bulk forming similar to that of sheet forming with the widely used Nakajima test.