Numerical simulation of the electromagnetic sheet metal bulging process

Electromagnetic forming (EMF) is an uncommon metal working process that relies on the use of electromagnetic forces to deform metallic workpieces at high speeds. It is expected to overcome some formability barriers of materials. EMF process analysis is the foundation of theoretical analysis. However, the electromagnetic sheet metal process is very difficult to describe, because of the complexity of magnetic pressure distribution. In this paper, a numerical modeling of the electromagnetic sheet metal process is performed using a finite element method, and a series of simulations on free bulging are carried out using the FEA program ADINA. The dynamic deformation process of sheet metal is investigated. At last, some experiments are made and those simulations agree well with the experimental results.