One point quadrature shell elements for sheet metal forming analysis

Numerical simulation of sheet metal forming processes is overviewed in this work. Accurate and efficient elements, material modelling and contact procedures are three major considerations for a reliable numerical analysis of plastic forming processes. Two new quadrilaterals with reduced integration scheme are introduced for shell analysis in order to improve computational efficiency without sacryfying accuracy: the first one is formulated for plane stress condition and the second designed to include through-thickness effects with the consideration of the normal stress along thickness direction. Barlat’s yield criterion, which was reported to be adequate to model anisotropy of aluminum alloy sheets, is used together with a multi-stage return mapping method to account for plastic anisotropy of the rolled sheet. A brief revision of contact algorithms is included, specially the computational aspects related to their numerical implementation within sheet metal forming context. Various examples are given to demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the proposed formulations.