Formability analysis of thin press hardening steel sheets under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions

Abstract

Aiming at the enhancement of the lightweight potential of press hardening steels, investigations on the formability of thin, boron alloyed, hot dip aluminized steel sheets are carried out. The material formability is described through Forming Limit Diagram (FLD), determined by means of Nakajima formability test of thin 22MnB5 sheets (0.50 mm, 0.80 mm, 1.25 mm) at elevated temperatures. The influence of sheet thickness on forming limits is evaluated under both isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. The effect of different deformation start temperatures is examined. The non-isothermal behavior is further investigated via microstructural analysis and a study on temperature profile during Nakajima test. The results show a significant difference regarding the influence of sheet thickness under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. Increasing the sheet thickness results, as expected, in higher forming limits for isothermal conditions, whereas for non-isothermal conditions the opposite effect on formability is observed. The obtained Forming Limit Curves (FLCs) are validated through hot stamping simulation and subsequent analysis of different thin components, concluding that in case of thin sheets the isothermal FLC constitutes a more conservative approach, while the non-isothermal one reaches the formability limits with higher accuracy.