Investigation on Twisting and Side Wall Opening Occurring in Curved Hat Channel Products Made of High Strength Steel Sheets

• Main Authors: Takamura, Masato, Fukui, Ayako, Yano, Hiroshi, Hama, Takayuki, Sunaga, Hideyuki, Makinouchi, Akitake, Asakawa, Motoo
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Channels; Computer simulation; Finite element method; Mathematical models; Sheet metal; Stepped; Torque; Walls
• ISSN: 0094-243X
• DOI: 10.1063/1.3623699

High strength steel sheets are becoming increasingly important for the weight reduction of automotive bodies to meet the requirements for reduced environmental impact. However, dimensional defects resulting from springback are serious issues, and effective methods of predicting and reducing such defects are necessary. In this study, we numerically and experimentally analyzed the mechanisms of dimensional inaccuracies caused by springback occurring in curved hat channel deep drawing products. The analysis was based on the static explicit FEM software "TP-STRUCT" (the solver part is known as "STAMP3D"). The results of the experiments and simulations similarly show that the twist angle is positive (right-hand system) when the drawing height is relatively large. We calculated the twist torque around the longitudinal axis using the stress distributions obtained by FE analysis. Through the investigation of twist torque and its transition during the drawing and die removal processes, we found that the negative torque generated by side wall opening occurring in the die removal process is the dominant factor of the positive twist. Knowing such mechanisms of twist in cases with a relatively large drawing height, we attempted to explore methods of reducing side wall opening by giving the side wall a stepped shape with the eventual aim of reducing twist. Consequently, we concluded that the stepped shape on the side wall has marked effects of reducing side wall opening, mainly through the elimination of bending-unbending effects on die shoulders, which was verified by observing the stress distribution obtained by FE analysis.