Deformation behaviors of magnesium alloy AZ31 sheet in cold deep drawing

To investigate how the popular magnesium alloy AZ31 sheet (aluminum 3%, zinc 1%) behaves in cold working, deep drawing experiments at room temperature, along with finite element(FE) simulation, were performed on the cold forming sheet of the AZ31 alloy after being annealed under various conditions. The activities were focused on the fracture pattern, limit drawing ratio(LDR), deformation load, thickness distribution, anisotropic effect, as well as the influences of the annealing conditions and tool configuration on them. The results display that punch shoulder radius instead of die clearance, has much influence on the thickness distribution. The anisotropy is remarkable in cold working, which adversely impacts the LDR. The fracture often happens on the side wall at an angle to axis of the deformed specimen. The results also imply that the LDR for the material under present experimental conditions is 1.72, and annealing the material at 450 degrees C for 1 h may be preferable for the cold deep drawing.