Theoretical and numerical study of strain rate influence on AA5083 formability

With the application of new forming techniques (hydroforming, incremental forming), it is necessary to improve the characterization of the formability of materials and in particular the influence of strain rate. This paper begins with the characterization of material behavior of an aluminum alloy 5083 at high temperatures. To describe its visco-plastic behavior, Swift’s hardening law is used and the corresponding parameter values are identified. Then, two different approaches are introduced to construct FLDs (forming limit diagrams) of this alloy sheet and evaluate the effect of the rate sensitivity index on its formability. The first one is theoretical (the M-K model), and an algorithm is developed to calculate the limit strains by this model. In the second approach, the Marciniak test is simulated with the commercially available finite-element program ABAQUS. Based on FEM results, different failure criteria are discussed and an appropriate one is chosen to determine the onset of localized necking. With the material behavior data corresponding to AA5083 at 150 °C, parametric studies are carried out to evaluate the effect of the strain rate sensitivity index. The comparison of results by these two approaches shows the same tendency that an improvement of the formability with increasing strain rate sensitivity is observed. Finally, by consideration of the compensating effects of the strain hardening and rate sensitivity indices, the FLDs of this sheet at 150, 240 and 300 °C are determined and compared. Results show that the formability of AA5083 seems not to be improved up to a certain temperature (between 240 and 300 °C), above this temperature, the formability is greatly enhanced.