Numerical and Experimental Studies on Strain Distribution and Weld Line Movement in Stretch Forming of Tailor Welded Blanks

Abstract

Use of laser welded blanks of multiple sheets of material which are referred to as Tailor Welded Blanks (TWB) is one of the current interests for automotive industries as it reduces manufacturing cost, weight of the vehicle and also improves the quality of the component. As the varieties of TWB applications are increasing, the effects of the difference in material properties, surface properties, weld and its orientation on blank formability have become important both in deep‐drawing and stretch forming. In this work, formability of two types of TWBs has been studied experimentally by performing out‐of‐plane stretch forming tests using a 101.6 mm diameter hemispherical punch. The materials used in this study were Interstitial‐Free (IF) steel sheet samples of different thickness (1.0mm and 1.5 mm) and samples of same thickness (1.5 mm) but with different surface characteristics (galvanized and ungalvanized). In the stretch forming experiments, the limiting dome height (LDH) and strain distribution were measured. The influence of weld orientation with respect to major surface strain on formability was studied by conducting experiments in or close to plane strain condition. It has been found that thickness ratio and difference in properties have significant influence on major and minor strain distributions and weld line movement, but the difference in surface characteristics has a minor effect. The simulations results agreed well with the observations from the experimental work conducted on stretch forming of TWBs.