Delamination analysis in single-point incremental forming of steel/steel bi-layer sheet metal

Layered metallic materials (LMMs) offer superior properties in comparison to their counterpart monolithic sheets. Single-point incremental forming (SPIF) has emerged as an economical solution to produce LMM parts. However, delamination can limit the formability of such parts. In this study, the delamination analysis during SPIF of layered sheets was performed. Steel/steel bi-layer sheets were fabricated by roll bonding. These sheets were produced at thickness reduction ratios of 47%, 58% and 70%. The bond strength and fracture toughness in mode I and mode II were determined by T-peel and tensile shear tests, respectively. When the thickness reduction ratio was increased from 47 to 70%, an increase in bond strength was observed with 572% increase in mode I and 15.6% in mode II, respectively. On the other hand, with the same percent increase in thickness reduction, the critical strain energy release showed an increase of 3992% in mode I and 20% decrease in mode II. Surface-based cohesive zone model was used to define the interface between layers during numerical simulation of SPIF for delamination analysis. To validate the numerical results, SPIF of given bi-layer sheet was performed experimentally and a good agreement between the numerical and experimental results was observed.