Analysis of the forming behaviors of magnesium alloy AZ31 by vaporizing metal foils

Vaporizing metal foils is a relatively new high-speed material processing technique which can improve the material’s forming limit and reduce the springback. This study aims to investigate the forming behaviors of sheet metals by vaporizing metal foils. A simple analytical model to calculate the energy efficiency of this forming method is firstly introduced. The forming behaviors of magnesium alloy AZ31 is analyzed by free bulging tests at room temperature. Besides, the mechanical behaviors of magnesium ally AZ31 is compared with that of aluminum alloy EN AW-6082. The experiments indicate that the magnesium alloy AZ31 exhibits good formability by vaporizing metal foils without heating treatment. Therefore, it is feasible to conduct plastic forming process of magnesium alloy ZA31 at room temperature, which is different from the traditional warm forming method for magnesium alloy.