A 3D FEM-Based Numerical Analysis of the Sheet Metal Strip Flowing Through Drawbead Simulator

Abstract

Drawbeads are elements of the stamping die and they are used to compensate material flow resistance around the perimeter of the drawpiece or to change the stress state in specific regions of the drawpiece. This paper presents the results of experimental and numerical analyses of tests of sheet metal flowing through a drawbead. The tests have been carried out using a special tribological simulator of the drawbead. Experimental tests to determine the coefficient of friction (COF) have been carried out for three widths of sheet metal strip and two drawbead heights. The three-dimensional (3D) elastic-plastic numerical computations were performed using the MSC. Marc program. Special attention was given to the effect of material flow through the drawbead on the distribution of the normal stress on the tool-sheet interface. The mesh sensitivity analysis based on the value of the drawing force of the specimen being pulled through the drawbead allowed an optimal mesh size to be determined. The errors between the numerically predicted values of the COF and the values experimentally determined ranged from about 0.95% to 7.1% in the cases analysed. In the case of a drawbead height of 12 mm, the numerical model overestimated the value of the COF for all specimen widths analysed. By contrast, in the case of a drawbead height of 18 mm, all experimentally determined friction coefficients are underestimated by Finite Element Method (FEM). This was explained by the different character of sheet deformation under friction and frictionless conditions. An increase in the drawbead height, with the same sheet width, increases the value of the COF.