Forming Limit Predictions for the Serrated Strain Paths in Single Point Incremental Sheet Forming

Abstract

The forming limits of sheets subjected to the Single Point Incremental Forming process (SPIF) is generally several times higher than those found in the Forming Limit Curve (FLC). In this paper it is shown that the non‐monotonic, serrated strain paths to which the material is subjected to during the SPIF process, play a role in the high formability, compared to the monotonic loading in the traditional FLC. The deformation history of an aluminium alloy truncated cone formed with the SPIF process is retrieved through a finite element (FE) model, and discussed. Subsequently, the strain paths at three different depths in the sheet are used as input into a Marciniak‐Kuczynski (MK) forming limit model. The usage of different constitutive models in this analysis shows that anisotropic hardening contributes to the delay of the onset of necking in the SPIF process. The large difference in the predicted forming limits that were obtained from the different layers indicates that an interaction between these layers should be taken into account for more accurate forming limit predictions of sheets subjected to the SPIF process.