Investigation of Sheet Metal Forming Using a Rapid Compression Machine

The primary goal of this work is to understand the deformation behavior of an aluminum alloy (Al) workpiece by using a rapid compression machine (RCM). The primary novelty in this work is that this is the first study on sheet metal forming using RCM. Numerical simulation and experimental results are in excellent agreement, e.g., the dome-shape, the maximum height, the final outer diameter, and the thickness distribution of the deformed workpiece. We demonstrate that the maximum deformation height grows linearly with the peak pressure with an intercept tending to zero. The proposed linear relationship can be effectively used for designing new components for a specific application. Moreover, the proposed numerical model was competent in reproducing the experimental results of damage initiation and evolution in case of high peak pressure as well as the initial misalignment of the workpiece. The results of this investigation revealed that a rapid compression machine can be utilized efficiently for the controlled forming of complex shapes of metal sheets.