INVESTIGATING ALUMINIUM SHEET WRINKLING DURING THE DEEP DRAWING PROCESS

The purpose of this study is to consider the effect of different parameters on the wrinkling phenomenon of square cups during the deep drawing process. An experimental system was prepared which consisted of a hydraulic press capable of applying different loads on the sheet metal blank and a blank holder and the process was controlled by a computer. All simulations were performed by using the ABAQUS/EXPLICIT V6.9 software, and the effect of different aluminium alloys, punch and die radius, blank holder force, blank holder gap, and friction coefficient on the wrinkling phenomenon has been investigated. Moreover, the minimal blank holder force was obtained by plotting minor strain with respect to the major strain of produced cups, and obtaining the maximum height of wrinkle in a cup. The wrinkling phenomenon was further investigated on different alloys such as A6111-T4, AA5754-O and Al-1050. The results imply that increasing the blank holder force and friction coefficient on the one hand and reducing the blank holder gap, punch radius, and die radius on the other hand, may lead to a reduction in wrinkling during the deep drawing process. Nevertheless, under the same circumstances of the deep drawing process, the wrinkling of the A6111-T4 alloy is more significant compared to the Al-1050 and AA5754-0 alloys, while the Al-1050 alloy needs less blank holder force to avoid wrinkling Using this simulation program it is possible to easily simulate the wrinkling of sheet metal blanks with the least number of trial and error.