Finite element analysis of magnesium AZ31 alloy sheet in warm deep-drawing process considering heat transfer effect

Abstract

This paper reports on the finite element analysis (FEA) of a warm deep-drawing process. The present investigation of FE analysis of warm deep-drawing process was initiated with two primary objectives. First, to have first-hand knowledge of warm deep-drawing process considering heat transfer effect between blank and die components (die and blank holder), second to investigate the improvement of drawability and temperature distribution of magnesium alloy sheet, AZ31. In this model, both die and blank holder were heated to 300 °C while the punch was kept at room temperature by cooling water. The initial temperature of the blank is the room temperature. The effect of strain rate sensitivity index on the deformation profile was considered in this work. The FE model was performed with two punch speeds to investigate the effect of the punch speed on the temperature distribution. The simulation results were compared to those obtained from the same model without considering heat transfer. In the second model, the die, the blank, the blank holder and the punch were heated to 300 °C. The simulation results revealed that considering heat transfer is very effective for deep drawability of Mg alloy. The blank in first model was drawn successfully without any localized thinning and the cup height is higher in contrast to the second model.