Application of a Graphical Method on Estimating Forming Limit Curve of Automotive Sheet Metals

Abstract

In the automotive engineering community, the modified maximum force criterion proposed by Hora and co-workers is considered acceptable for theoretically estimating the forming limit curve (FLC) of sheet metals. Based on this criterion, a graphical method is proposed to simplify evaluation of the FLC. This paper investigates the proposed graphical method in a special case by using a power-hardening law and the Mises yield function, which leads to an explicit expression of the critical strains according the strain paths. The FLC of a DP590 sheet estimated using the proposed method is compared with that estimated using existing analytical methods. The proposed method provides the best prediction of the FLC of the tested material. For verification, the calculated FLC is then adopted into the finite-element method to predict the punch stroke at fracture of several notched specimens subjected to Nakazima tests. The good agreement between the predicted and experimentally determined values of the punch strokes verifies the ability and potential of the proposed method in industrial engineering.