Numerical simulation of thin sheet forming processes by the finite element method Available to Purchase

A numerical model for solving either elastic‐plastic, elastic‐viscoplastic or purely viscoplastic deformation of thin sheets is presented, using a membrane mechanical approach. The finite element method is used associated with an incremental procedure. The mechanical equations are the principle of virtual work written in terms of plane stress, which is solved at the end of each increment, and an incremental semi‐implicit flow rule obtained by the time integration of the constitutive equations over the increment. These equations are written using curvilinear coordinates, and membrane elements are used to discretize them. The resolution method is the Newton‐Raphson algorithm. The contact algorithm is presented and allows for applications to cold stretching and deep‐drawing problems and to the superplastic forming of thin sheets.