Development of advanced techniques for identification of flow stress and friction parameters for metal forming analysis

The accuracy of process simulation in metal forming by finite element method depends on the accuracy of flow stress data and friction value that are input to FEM programs. Therefore, it is essential that these input values are determined using reliable tests and evaluation methods. This study presents the development of inverse analysis methodology and its application to determine flow stress data of bulk and sheet materials at room and elevated temperatures. The inverse problem is defined as the minimization of the differences between the experimental measurements and the corresponding FEM predictions. Rigid-viscoplastic FEM is used to analyze the metal flow while a numerical optimization algorithm adjusts the material parameters used in the simulation until the calculated response matches the measured data within a specified tolerance.; The use of the developed inverse analysis methodology has been demonstrated by applying it to the selected reference rheological tests; cylinder compression test, ring compression test, instrumented indentation test, modified limiting dome height test, and sheet hydraulic bulge test. Furthermore, using the determined material property data, full 3-D finite element simulation models, as examples of industrial applications for orbital forming and thermoforming processes have been developed for reliable process simulation.; As results of this study, it was shown that the developed inverse analysis methodology could identify both the material parameters and friction factors from one set of tests, simultaneously. Therefore, this technique can offer a systematic and cost effective way for determining material property data for simulation of metal forming processes.