Overview on constitutive modeling for hydroforming with the existence of through-thickness normal stress

The hydroforming process is used widely across many industrial fields. High applied pressure during hydroforming makes it necessary to consider the influence of the through-thickness normal stress, while traditional approaches based upon a plane-stress assumption are not appropriate in such cases. Reliable constitutive models that consider the through-thickness normal stress are summarized in this paper, which focuses on the state of the art in the following several aspects: determine the flow stress curve with proper experimental methods and choose the measurement and computational methods to minimize the error as much as possible; select the proper three-dimensional anisotropic yield criterion for the specific material; Define the forming limit model and construct corresponding experimental verification method. The review of existing work has revealed several gaps in current knowledge of the hydroforming process accounting for the through-thickness normal stress. Conclusions are drawn concerning some critical issues and potential future developments in hydroforming modeling.