Modeling and simulation for multiple-step incremental air-bending forming of sheet metal

Abstract

Based on Hill’s yielding criterion and plane strain condition, the explicit expressions of elastoplastic constitutive model are derived in this paper which takes into account the effects of transverse stress, neutral surface shifting, and sheet thickness thinning on the sheet springback of air-bending. Then, this model is embedded into ABAQUS software platform by means of programming. Finally, 3D ABAQUS finite-element models (FEM), used to form the semiellipse-shaped workpiece with super length and large opening of sheet metal, are established, and the multiple-step incremental air-bending forming and springback processes are simulated. The simulation and experiment results show that the data predicted with the new constructed constitutive model under the plane strain condition are in much better agreement with experimental data than those predicted with the constitutive model built-in ABAQUS. It can be taken as a valuable mathematical tool used for multiple-step incremental air-bending forming simulation of large area sheet metal.