Superplastic Response of Continuously Cast AZ31B Magnesium Sheet Alloys

Magnesium sheet is typically produced for commercial applications with the traditional DC-ingot casting method. As a result of the hexagonal close-packed crystallographic structure in magnesium, multiple rolling passes and annealing steps are required to reduce the thickness of the ingots. Thus, high fabrication costs characterize the creation of magnesium sheet suitable for common forming operations. Recently, continuous casting (CC) technology, where molten metal is solidified directly into sheet form, has been applied to magnesium alloys; this method has shown the potential to significantly reduce the cost of fabricating magnesium sheet alloys. In order to understand the viability of the CC process, a study was conducted to investigate the superplastic potential of alloys produced by this method. This study focused on AZ31B Mg that was continuously-cast on twin-roll casters from three different suppliers. These three materials were compared with a production DC-cast AZ31B alloy in terms of microstructure, elevated-temperature tensile properties, and superplastic forming response. The data from this study found that microstructural features such as grain size and segregation can significantly affect the forming response. Additionally, the CC alloys can have equivalent or superior SPF response compared to DC-cast alloys, as demonstrated in both elevated temperature tensile tests and superplastic forming trials using a rectangular pan die.     

The finite element simulation of high-temperature magnesium AZ31 sheet forming

Finite element (FE) simulations will be vitally important to advancing magnesium alloy sheet forming technologies for vehicle component manufacturing. Although magnesium alloy sheet has been successfully formed into complex components at high temperatures, material constitutive model development for FE simulations has not kept pace with the needs of forming process design. This article describes the application of a new material constitutive model in FE simulations for hot forming of magnesium AZ31 alloy sheet. Simulations of forming both simple geometries from laboratory studies and complex parts from production trials are presented and compared with experimental results.     

有色金属板材若干温热加工成形技术的发展

介绍了有色金属材料加工先进新技术国内外发展和应用概况,包括近年来关于镁合金、钛合金、铝合金等典型有色金属材料领域出现的先进塑性成形技术,尤其温热加工成形技术。在镁合金板材冲压成形领域,介绍了镁合金板材温热冲压成形、差温冲压成形、温热液压成形和热冲锻成形以及镁合金型材温热拉弯成形等新工艺技术,为镁合金板材在汽车、电子、机车车辆等领域的应用奠定了技术基础。钛合金板材零件的热应力成形、热胀形成形、激光弯曲成形、高温蠕变成形技术都得到了发展和应用。随着铝合金的进一步应用和发展,一些低塑性难成形高强铝合金的用量在增加,应用领域在扩展。因此铝合金的温热液压成形、冲锻成形都有所发展。     

Characterization of yielding behavior of sheet metal under biaxial stress condition at elevated temperatures

The enhancement of material modeling in fields of sheet metal forming is essential for finite element-based designing of processes and dimensioning of parts. Since new lightweight materials, e.g. aluminum and magnesium wrought alloys show anisotropic and temperature-dependent forming behavior adequate testing methods and evaluation strategies have to be developed to obtain the reliable material data. For that purpose an experimental setup has been designed at the Chair of Manufacturing Technology which enables biaxial tensile testing of sheet metal at elevated temperatures. In this paper, the setup is introduced and the obtained results, i.e. experimentally determined yield loci and subsequent yield loci as a function of temperature are given for the well-known aluminum alloy AA6016 as well as the magnesium alloy AZ31.     

镁合金板料热拉深成套装备及实验研究

镁合金作为21世纪绿色工程金属结构材料,必将成为汽车、摩托车等交通工具、计算机、通讯、仪器仪表、家电、轻工、军事等行业的重要选材.镁合金板料冲压加工技术已成为有关领域研究的热点,设计镁合金板料热成形成套装置很有意义.本文对镁合金板料加热系统原理和结构以及热冲压模具的加热系统进行了研究,设计了镁合金板料热成形用的整套试验装置,并利用该装置进行了镁合金板料成形的有关试验,得出了一些初步结论.成套装备的开发为镁合金板料热冲压成形的深入研究奠定了基础.     

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

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.     

镁合金板材的固体颗粒介质拉深工艺参数

提出基于固体颗粒介质成形(SGMF)工艺的镁合金板材差温拉深工艺,并展开试验研究。通过对AZ31B镁合金薄板进行差温拉深成形试验,研究了成形温度、拉深速度、压边力、压边间隙、凹模圆角和润滑条件对拉深性能的影响,确定AZ31B镁合金板料最佳成形工艺参数。结果表明:该工艺可显著提高镁合金板材的成形性能,成形温度及拉深速度对板料拉深性能影响较大,板料最佳成形温度区间为290～310℃,颗粒介质与板料理想温差为110～150℃;压边力和压边间隙对拉深性能产生联合影响;此外,凹模圆角和润滑条件也对拉深性能有一定的影响。当上述工艺参数达到最佳值时成功拉深出极限拉深比(LDR)为2.41的工件。     

A new method of determining forming limit diagram for sheet materials by gas blow forming

A new methodology is proposed to obtain forming limit diagrams (FLDs) of sheet materials using gas blow forming process at elevated temperatures. Tension–tension side of the forming FLD is achieved by using circular as well as elliptical dies of different aspect ratios. To achieve tension–compression side of FLD un-bonded bi-layer specimen with slots are utilized. The widths between the slots are varied to achieve different strain paths. A correlation is established between the hemispherical punch-based tests and GBF tests of samples with slots to achieve different strain paths. FLDs for automotive AZ31 magnesium sheet at 300 °C and 400 °C in two different orientations are determined. Increase in forming limits of AZ31 with increase in temperature is observed.     

铝合金板温成形过程摩擦在线检测系统的研究

介绍并分析了对板料成形过程摩擦问题研究的发展与现状。设计出一种用于动态测量板料成形真实过程摩擦系数的探针传感器,并在此基础上开发出铝合金板料温成形过程摩擦在线检测系统。利用该系统进行了铝镁合金板(5182)筒形件温成形过程摩擦在线检测,得到了合理的实验结果。     

AZ31B镁合金板热渐进成形的精度研究

成形精度差是限制单点渐进成形发展的重要因素,针对单点渐进成形技术难以实现对材料高温处理再加工的问题,提出一种基于液体介质加热的单点渐进成形方法,并通过依次提高温度的方法,探索了适合进行AZ31B镁合金板料单点渐进成形的实验温度。同时,研究了在该温度下采用单点渐进成形方法加工AZ31B镁合金方锥件时,成形角对精度的影响。结果表明:液体介质加热的方法对单点渐进成形有效,在加热油温达到200℃时能够完成镁合金板料的单点渐进成形过程;方锥成形件的精度影响分两种形式——侧壁鼓凸和棱边回弹,并且随成形角的增大,侧壁鼓凸和棱边回弹的回弹量都减小。     

成形参数对AZ31B镁合金板料渐进成形表面质量及温度的影响

介绍了镁合金摩擦生热渐进成形原理,并研究了在工具头行进速度为1000 mm·min^-1下,工具头主轴转速(1000~6000 r·min^-1)、轴向进给量(0. 5~3 mm)、成形角度、工具头半径、环境温度对厚度为2 mm的镁合金板料圆锥台零件成形性的影响。实验结果表明:随着主轴转速的增加,零件表面质量先升高后降低;零件表面质量随着轴向进给量的增加而降低;在成形极限角内,零件表面质量随着成形角度增加而提高;零件表面质量随着工具头半径增加先升高后降低;加工时环境温度对成形结果有影响。通过摩擦生热的方式对AZ31B镁合金板料加热,板料温度会随着主轴转速、轴向进给量和工具头半径递增而增加,成形角度对板料温度的影响不大。     

Review on the development of a hybrid incremental sheet forming system for small batch sizes and individualized production

Asymmetric Incremental Sheet Forming (AISF) has been developed as a flexible process for low-volume production of sheet metal parts. In AISF, a part is obtained as the sum of localized plastic deformations produced by a simple forming tool that moves under CNC control. In spite of about 20 years of research and development, AISF has not had much industrial take-up yet. The main reason for this is that attempts to improve, among other limitations, the accuracy, speed and range of feasible geometries of the process by adapted process strategies has not brought about general solutions. This paper presents an overview of the current state of development of hybrid asymmetric incremental sheet forming processes at RWTH Aachen University. The goal of the development of hybrid ISF processes is to allow for a quantum leap of the capabilities of AISF in order to enable a broader industrial use of AISF. Two hybrid process variations of AISF are presented: stretch forming combined with ISF and laser-assisted AISF. It is shown that the combination of stretch forming and AISF can improve the time per part, sheet thickness distribution and accuracy of the final part. Laser-assisted AISF is shown to enable the flexible forming of non cold-workable materials such as magnesium and titanium alloys when the forming conditions are adapted to the temperature and strain rate dependent formability of the sheet metal. In addition, first results of the forming of hybrid aluminum-steel sheet metal are shown.     

An Experiment on Magnetic Pulse Uniaxial Tension of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy Sheet at Room Temperature

Formability of magnesium alloys at room temperature or slightly elevated temperatures is low, and exhibiting poor resistance to strain localization and failure. However, it is possible to improve the formability of AZ31 magnesium alloy sheet at high strain rate such as by electromagnetic forming (or magnetic pulse forming). In this study, experimental investigation of uniaxial tension of AZ31 sheet by magnetic pulse forming at room temperature was presented. The approximate rectangular flat spiral coil was employed to carry out the experiments. The specimens used in the tension test by magnetic pulse forming were same as the quasi-static uniaxial test. The samples were placed close to the outside of coil where an approximately homogenous magnetic field distribution prevailed. The experimental results indicate that the total elongation of AZ31 sheet improves about 37% compared with the quasi-static case. Non-uniform deformation occurs in the specimen. The maximum strain takes place on the area C, where is plotted on the specimen. The major and minor principal strains at most increase by approximately 112 and 96% under 5.12 kJ energy. The experimental results obtained in this study provide the fundamentals for the investigation of high speed forming of AZ31 magnesium alloy sheets.     

AZ31B镁合金板材冲压成形性能研究

由于镁合金板材的冲压产品具有较好的力学性能和表面质量而成为镁合金材料应用的一个趋势。然而，目前它的许多成形性能参数尚未研究，这也影响了镁合金冲压成形工艺的设计。为丁研究镁合金薄板的冲压成形性能，试验得到了一些成形性能参数，并为镁合金冲压成形的有限元模拟提供了重要的试验参数。     

智能与控制在塑性加工制备与成形中的应用

对材料制备与塑性加工方面的智能控制特点进行了介绍与分析。首先对钢铁、铜及铜合金管材连铸连轧过程控制加工特点进行了阐述 ,其次介绍了镁合金的“轧制 等通道角挤压 拉制”连续加工制备技术和镁合金薄板半固态双辊铸轧工艺。对于薄板增量加工成形技术 ,介绍了飞机整体壁板增量压弯技术、薄板单点无模增量成形技术和多点无模增量成形技术。讨论了薄板可动凹模液压成形技术、异型截面管件液压成形技术和细长杆件空间弯扭成形技术原理。最后对于微小件加工技术进行了简要介绍     

Experimental and numerical study of warm deep drawing of AZ31 magnesium alloy sheet

Warm forming of magnesium alloy sheet has attracted more and more attention in recent years. The formability of magnesium alloy sheet at elevated temperature depends on appropriate processes, and the fabrication of high-performance sheet. In this research, an AZ31 magnesium alloy sheet with excellent performances is fabricated by the cross-rolling and the uniform annealing treatments. The uniaxial tensile tests are conducted using a Gleeble 3500 thermal–mechanical simulator, and the mechanical properties of AZ31 magnesium alloy sheet are analyzed. Finally, some limiting drawing ratio (LDR) experiments are performed. The experiments show that the LDR can reach 2.0 at the forming temperature of 150 °C and the drawing velocity of 15 mm/s. A warm deep drawing process is also simulated by the finite element method. The influences of drawing temperature and blank holder force on the formability are numerically investigated. The simulation demonstrated that variable blank holder force technology can improve the LDR from 3.0 to 3.5, and decrease the wall thinning ratio from 15.21% to 12.35%.     

AZ31B镁合金热渐进成形实验研究

单点渐进成形中通常用最大成形角来表示成形极限,对于研究尚少的热渐进成形,研究其成形极限能够对后期该材料的相关实验研究有借鉴作用。提出一种以油浴方式对AZ31B镁合金板料进行加热处理,并以此辅助的热渐进成形实验,用升高温度梯度的方式探索了合适的加工温度,并在该温度下研究不同板料厚度下的成形极限。结果表明:在介质油温度为200℃左右时,板料的加工性能良好,可以进行渐进成形实验,成形件完整且无明显缺陷;在此温度下,1 mm厚的板料成形极限为45°~47°,1.5 mm厚的板料成形极限为60°~62°。     

The effect of rate sensitivity on history dependent forming limits of anisotropic sheet metals

history dependent forming limits of sheet metals are computed by examining the role of rate sensitivity of flow stress in forming limits for anisotropic materials. Assuming that necking or nonuniform deformation is caused by initial heterogeneity, the forming limits are computed by considering the flow theory and incorporating an isotropic hardening model for anisotropic materials. Representative results show some of the trends for changing forming limits with different parameters under complex nonproportional loading histories. The computed results agree well with published experimental data for different loading history, anisotropy, and rate sensitivity of sheet materials.     

New developments on the use of polymeric materials in sheet metal forming

Advanced polymers offer at the present time concrete possibilities in reducing the product development time and production of prototypes and small series of sheet metal parts. However, the applicability of such materials requires different approaches in comparison to conventional materials for sheet metal forming dies. This paper presents investigation results dealing with tribological and tool design aspects for the use of polymeric materials in sheet metal forming. Friction and wear of sheets with different surface topologies have been investigated. A new test method for measuring polymer/sheet wear is presented. A coupled simulation model for the production of a test geometry aimed specifically at the investigation of die deformations and loads is presented. The behaviour of two polymeric materials by forming the test geometry has been simulated and the maximal loads and deformations during the process have been quantified. Simulation results have been subsequently validated in experimental testing.     

ZK60镁合金板材成形性能试验

对ZK60镁合金板材在室温和高温条件下进行杯突试验。试验结果表明,室温下ZK60镁合金板材杯突值IE=4.5mm,在370℃条件下材料的杯突值IE=16.5mm,胀形高度增加了266.7%;ZK60镁合金板材高温胀形的破裂,是由冲头附近板材沿切向方向的裂纹扩展和沿厚度方向缩颈所产生的断裂造成。