Reverse effect of tensile force on sidewall curl for materials with tensile/compressive strength difference

Abstract

Sidewall curl occurring by the removal of tool surfaces after forming is one adverse phenomenon that should be effectively reduced in sheet metal forming operations. Among several process parameters controlling sidewall curl, a constraint tensile force is widely used along with attainable formability by introducing blank holder and drawbead. The classic but common knowledge is that sidewall curl is suppressed for conventional sheet metals as the constraint tensile force increases. Interestingly, however, for magnesium alloy sheets that have unusual asymmetry in tension and compression it has been recently reported that springback increases as the tensile force increases within a specific range of tension. The major deformation in the sidewall usually consists of bending and unbending under tensile force. Therefore, this unique stress-strain response of sheet materials with strength-differential, including magnesium alloys, should be considered for an accurate estimation of sidewall curl. In the present study, a semi-analytical bending/unbending theory incorporating characteristic constitutive behavior of magnesium alloys was developed to evaluate the moment-curvature relationship for various levels of constraint tensile forces. The present analysis proved that the reverse effect of constraint tensile force on sidewall curl was caused by the lower resistance to plastic yielding in compression with proper combination of applied tensile force.