FORMABILITY

Metallic materials have the ability of undergoing plastic

deformation without damage. Thus these materials can be
shaped into desired geometries of semifinished (e. g. by
rolling, extrusion) or finished products (e. g. by forging,
rollforming, stamping, hotstamping, packaging,
hydroforming).
Plastic deformation occurs in the way that the shape of
bodies can be changed without any volume change. This
mechanism can be explained by a rearrangement of atomic
structure with the shear stress being the driving force for
such dislocation movements. The plastic deformation
capacity of metallic materials however has its limits. There
are several modes of failure that can occur and this is where
the formability as material property comes in. Thus:
• The metal formability is a measure of its ability to
deform plastically during a forming process or it is
the relative ease with which a metal can be shaped
through plastic deformation.

Fracture strain

A very general parameter that indicates the formability and

the ductility of a material is the fracture strain from a
uniaxial tensile test .The strain taken from this test is
defined by the elongation with respect to a reference
length .It has to be noted that up to the uniform elongation
the deformation is homogeneous, subsequently localized
straining takes place until fracture occurs. The fracture
strain is not a physical strain since within the reference
strain there is an inhomogeneous distribution of the
deformation within the reference length. Nevertheless the
fracture strain is a rough indicator of the formability of a
material. Typical values of the fracture strain are 7% for
ultra high strength material and well over 50% for mild
strength steel.

Forming limits for sheet forming

One main failure mode is caused by tearing the material.
This is typical for sheet forming applications. At a certain
forming stage a neck may be appear. This is an indication
of localized plastic deformation. Whereas in the early
stable deformation stage a more or less homogeneous
deformation takes place in and around the subsequent neck
location, almost all deformation concentrates in the neck
zone in this quasistable and instable deformation phase
which leads to failure of the material by tearing. Forming
limit curves display extreme but still safe deformation of
sheet material may undergo at any location in the stamping
process. These limits depend on the deformation mode, the
ratio of the surface strains. The major surface strain has a
minimum value when plane strain deformation occurs, this
means that the corresponding surface strain is zero.
Forming limits are a specific material property.
Deepdrawability
A classic form of sheetforming is deep drawing. This is
done by drawing a sheet using a punch tool (acting in the
inner region of the sheet) whereas the material from the
side which is held by a blankholder can draw inside. It has
been observed that materials with outstanding
deepdrawability behave anisotropic (anisotropy). The
plastic deformation in the surface is much more
pronounced than in the thickness. The lankford coefficient (
r ) is a specific material property which displays the ratio of
the width deformation versus the thickness deformation for
the uniaxial tensile test. Materials with very good
deepdrawability have a r value of 2 and above. One can
understand this positive aspect of formability with respect
to the forming limit curve (forming limit diagram) in the
way that the deformation paths of the material are
concentrated on the very left side of the diagram where the
forming limits become very large.
Ductility

Another failure mode that may occur without undergoing

the tearing mode is ductile fracture after plastic
deformation (ductility). This may happen due to shear
deformation (inplane or shear through the thickness) or due
to bending. The failure mechanism may be understood by
void nucleation and expansion on a microscopic level.
Microcracks and subsequent macrocracks may appear when
deformation of the material between the voids has exceeded
its limit. Research has been very active in recent years in
order to understand and model ductile fracture. The
approach taken is to identify ductile forming limits using
various small scale tests which exhibit different strain ratios
or stress triaxialities

Use of formability parameters

Knowledge of the material formability is very important for

the layout and design of any industrial forming process.
Here simulation with the finite element method along with
the use of formability criteria like the forming limit curve
(forming limit diagram) enhances and in some cases is
indispensable for certain tool design .
FORMABILITY LIMIT DIAGRAM

A forming limit diagram, also known as a forming limit

curve, is used in sheet metal forming for predicting
forming behaviour of sheet metal. The diagram attempts to
provide a graphical description of material failure tests,
such as a punched dome test.
In order to determine whether a given region has failed, a
mechanical test is performed. The mechanical test is
performed by placing a circular mark on the workpiece
prior to deformation, and then measuring the post-
deformation ellipse that is generated from the action on this
circle. By repeating the mechanical test to generate a range
of stress states, the formability limit diagram can be
generated as a line at which failure is onset.
The semi-axes of the ellipse formed in this circle allow for
the measurement of relative strain in two primary
directions, known as the major and minor directions, which
correspond to the major and minor semi-axes of the ellipse.
Under the assumption of path independent strain, the
relative strains will reach a critical value at which
deformations occurs. Through repeated experimental
measurements, the shape of the curve can be obtained
experimentally. Alternately, a formability limit diagram can
be generated by mapping the shape of a failure criterion
into the formability limit domain. However the diagram is
obtained, the resultant diagram provides a tool for the
determination as to whether a given forming process will
result in failure or not. Such information is critical in the
design of forming processes, and is therefore fundamental
to the design of sheet metal forming processes. Through the
establishment of forming limit diagrams for range of alloys,
the forming process and alloy behaviour can be matched at
the metalworking design time by the process engineer.

CONCEPT

Strain analysis by grid marking is a useful method, which

has been used effectively to solve the problems in
metal forming. When sheet metal is formed, its surface is
subjected to different stresses. This results into non
uniform strains to be developed in the formed part. Thus
there will be regions of high strains as well as low
strains, which may lead to wrinkling or fracturing of the
material. By the grid marking method the areas of
high strain can be easily identified. The sheet is marked
with the grid before forming process is carried out.
After the sheet metal is deformed into desired shape, strain
distribution can be visualized and critical areas of
strain will be found by FLD (forming limit diagram) and
control can be planned by varying the forming
parameters.

GRID

Many types of circle grid patterns have been used, such as

square arrays of contacting or closely spaced non
contacting circles and arrays of overlapping circles. With
small closely spaced circles, it is possible to
determine strain gradients accurately. After deformation the
circle is transferred into ellipse. The direction of
the strains is indicated by the major and minor axis of the
ellipse. Circles of 2.5mm diameters have been found
to be a good size.
 GRID MARKING METHODS
There are various techniques available for applying the
grids. Circular grids are normally made in two
different ways. They can be made electro-chemically or
photo-chemically, both processes having particular
advantages and disadvantages.

STRAIN MEASUREMENT
After sheet metal is formed the marked circles will deform
into ellipses of different sizes. Strain is calculated
from the following formula.
1) Dividers and steel rule - This is the most simple and
quick method. This method is suitable for
measurement on more or less flat surface. On curved
surface the measured dimension will be less i.e. it
will measure the chord length rather than arc length. The
accuracy is also limited.

2) Mylar Tape – this is a transparent scale to measure the

strain directly. This tape has diverging lines scaled
to read directly in percent strain. This scale is produced by
photographic printing from a negative on to
film. The scale is placed over an ellipse over a sharp radius
and then shifted until the diverging lines line
up with the major axis of the ellipse. The percent strain is
measured directly from the scale. The scale is
next turned 90 degrees to read the minor strain.
 Mylar Tape

3) Travelling microscope - This is the most widely used

method for measuring the changes in the dimension
of grid circles. There are two right angle slides on which
work is mounted. The work is positioned under
the microscope. Cross wire is aligned at one end and the
measurement is taken. The cross wire is then
aligned on the other end by moving the work table and the
measurement is taken. The difference between
the two readings gives the absolute measurement. This is an
accurate method. Two persons can get
different readings because of error in aligning the two axes.

4) Grid Circle Analyser (GCA) - They use a solid state

digital array camera with a built in light source, a
computer, keyboard, and CRT display. The image of given
deformed circle is displayed on the CRT and a
least squares curve fitting program selects the most suitable
ellipse, which is displayed simultaneously.
The major and minor strains computed from the equation
for ellipse and the diameter of the original circle
are displayed on the screen.

FORMING LIMIT DIAGRAM

PROCEDURE

To reduce experimentation through trial and error method

which is both expensive and time consuming,
Keeler and Goodwin proposed grid strain analysis. This
involves etching a pattern of fine circles on the sheet
metal before pressing. After pressing the circles will be
deformed into ellipses which can be measured to
indicate major and minor strains produced in the
component. An estimate of how close the metal is to failure
is obtained by reference to the FLD, which is a plot of the
major and minor strains at fracture over a wide
range of conditions. Forming limit diagrams indicate the
limiting strains that sheet metals can sustain over a wide
range of major – to – minor strain ratios.

Two types of tests are used to determine these limiting

strains. The first category of test involves stretching
test specimens over a punch – for example the
hemispherical punch method producing some out of plane
deformation. The hemispherical punch method for
determining FLD uses circle gridded strips of the test
material ranging in width from 25.4 to 203 mm that are
clamped in a die ring and stretched to fracture by a
steel punch (102 mm dia). The strains are measured in and
around regions of visible necking and fracture. The
forming limit curve is drawn above the strains measured
outside the necked regions and below those measured
in the necked and fractured regions.
The second test produces only in – plane – deformation.and
does not involve any contact with the
sample within the gage length. This can be achieved by
using uniaxial tensile test or marciniak biaxial
stretching test with elliptical or circular punches.
Example: A grid of 2.5 mm circles is electroetched on
a blank of sheet steel. After forming into a complex
shape the circle in the region of critical strain is
distorted into and ellipse with major diameter 4.5 mm
and minor diameter 2.0 mm. How close is the part
to failing in this critical region?

Major strain

Minor strain
 U
S E
OF GRID ANALYSIS FOR PRESS SHOPS

FLD can be used in conjunction with grid analysis to

estimate how closely areas of high strain in a shell are to
fracture. Thus the criticality of a press forming operation
can be determined. Areas of high strain in the press
formed component can be located and by studying the
development of the strains during the press forming the
cause of the strains can be usually found and remedied.
Grid analysis can be used -
1) For die development
2) For selection of material and lubricant.
3) For fault finding.
4) For production control.
5) For monitoring die work.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my sincere thanks to MR.

SUNIL.D.T, Lecturer, Govt. Engg. College for his
guidance and encouragement for preparing this
report.

I also express my gratitude and respect to all

those who have guided and inspired in completing
this report.
 CONTENTS

1.) FORMABILITY

2.) FORMABILITY LIMIT DIAGRAM

3.) CONCEPT AND STRAIN MEASUREMENT

4.) FORMABILITY LIMIT DIAGRAM

PROCEDURE

5.) BIBLIOGRAPHY
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.) STRAIN STUDIES IN SHEET METAL STAMPINGS,

By, Amit Mukund Joshi
2.) THEORY OF PLASTICITY, By Sadhu Singh

3.) PRODUCTION ENGINEERING , By Made Easy

Publications

4.) WWW. GOOGLE . COM

5.) WIKIPEDIA .ORG

FORMABILITY AND
FORMABILITY LIMIT DIAGRAM

A SEMINAR REPORT

Submitted by

N. ANAND BALU
 ROLL: ETAIEPEO14
S6

DEPARTMENT OF PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE THRISSUR