Technical Paper
Analysis of the Increased Formability of Aluminum Alloy Sheet Formed Using Electromagnetic Forming
2005-04-11
2005-01-0082
One of the main challenges associated with the use of aluminum alloys in the automotive industry is increasing their limited formability. Electromagnetic forming has been considered recently as a way of addressing this issue. Increases in formability for several commercial aluminum alloys have been reported in electromagnetic (EM) and other high speed forming processes. These increases are typically attributed to high strain rate and inertial effects; however, these effects alone cannot account for the increases in formability observed. The present authors have previously reported that the increased formability is likely due to damage suppression caused by the tool/sheet interaction. This paper presents an analysis of this interaction and how it affects the formability of the sheet. Experimental and numerical work was carried out to determine the details of the forming process and its effects on formability, damage evolution and failure.