Experimental and theoretical study on the hot forming limit of 22MnB5 steel

To reveal the effects of forming temperature and blank thickness on the formability of boron steel 22MnB5, which is represented by forming limit diagram, the hot forming limit experiments and B-pillar hot stamping simulations are conducted. Combined with air cooling test, the forming limit diagrams of boron steels with different blank thicknesses of 1.8, 1.6, and 1.4 mm and forming temperatures of 800, 700, and 600 °C are established. The relationships between the formability and the crystal structure of steel, the forming limit diagram, and the effect of blank thickness and forming temperature on the formability of boron steel are extensively investigated. A model for prediction of hot forming limit of 22MnB5 steel before the occurrence of phase transformation induced by cooling based on Oh's ductile fracture criterion and Logan–Hosford yield criterion is derived and verified by experiments. The research thus provides an in-depth understanding of the formability of 22MnB5 steel for its process determination and process parameter configuration in industries.