Sectional finite element analysis of coupled deformation between elastoplastic sheet metal and visco-elastoplastic body

The present paper is devoted to developing a new numerical simulation method for the analysis of viscous pressure forming (VPF), which is a sheet flexible-die forming (FDF) process. The pressure-carrying medium used in VPF is one kind of semisolid, flowable and viscous material and its deformation behavior can be described by the visco-elastoplastic constitutive model. A sectional finite element model for the coupled deformation analysis between the viscoelastoplastic pressure-carrying medium and the elastoplastic sheet metal is proposed. The resolution of the Updated Lagrangian (UL) formulation is based on a static explicit approach. The frictional contact between sheet metal and visco-elastoplastic pressure-carrying medium is treated by the penalty function method. Coupled deformation between sheet metal and visco-elastoplastic pressure-carrying medium with large slip is analyzed to validate the developed algorithm. Finally, the viscous pressure bulging (VPB) process of DC06 sheet metal is simulated. Good agreement between numerical simulation results and experimental measurements shows the validity of the developed algorithm.