Study of Al/St laminated sheet and constituent layers in radial pressure-assisted hydrodynamic deep drawing

In this research, radial pressure-assisted hydrodynamic deep drawing of single- and bilayer cups is studied using finite-element and experimental methods. The reason for using laminated composites is to take the combinatorial benefits of single materials, such as higher strength-to-weight ratio, improved corrosion and abrasion resistance, more favorable thermal and electrical characteristics, and even lower commercial price. Safe forming area and probability of failure occurrence are predicted for both single- and bilayer sheets using 3D process window diagram (PWD) as a practical tool based on the effective geometrical parameters on the pressure-drawing ratio. The effects of layers arrangement on the forming behavior of laminated sheets were also analyzed in different pressure loading paths. The results show that the aluminum/steel composite has a wider forming pressure range, higher drawing ratio and lower geometrical limitations compared with the single-layer aluminum in identical conditions. It is found that a thin layer of steel as the outer layer improves the formability of aluminum.