Finite element Simulation studies of AISI 304 for deep drawing at various temperatures

Sheet metal forming is most important forming process in manufacturing of variety of panels and parts. Deep drawing is the flow of material into die cavity by application of punch force. In this paper the work is aimed to investigate the formability analysis of austenitic stainless steel 304 at various temperatures under warm conditions. Limiting draw ratio and thickness distribution of deep drawn cups at i.e room temperature and 150 degrees C are calculated and these are the indicators of formability for any material. The experimental results shows that at room temperature the limiting draw ratio for 1mm thick sheet Austenitic stainless steel 304 is 2.1 and at 150 degrees C for 1mm thick sheet the limiting drawing ratio is 2.5, there is any further improvement in LDR at higher temperatures. Finite element simulations using explicit finite element code LS-DYNA are carried out for prediction of formability from room temperature to 150 degrees C. To increase the accuracy in the simulation process, numbers of integration points were increased in the thickness direction and it was found that there is very close agreement between experimental data and simulated data. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.