Analytical study of drawing of non-bonded trimetallic strips

The present study is concerned with an analytical solution of the process based on upper bound techniques. A kinematically admissible plane-strain velocity field is proposed which takes into account the die geometry, friction conditions, relative motion between the components, strength and volume fraction of the component materials, redundant work and strain hardening. The analysis is considered to be the first solution of the process capable of predicting the final thicknesses of the components in drawn trimetallic strips. This is performed by minimizing the drawing poer by a computer analysis. Experimental results for drawing of aluminium/copper/aluminium trimetallic strips show good agreement with theoretical results.