Experimental Investigation of the Effect of the Material Damage Induced in Sheet Metal Forming Process on the Service Performance of 22MnB5 Steel

摘要

The use of ultra-high strength steels through sheet metal forming process offers a practical solution to the lightweight design of vehicles. However, sheet metal forming process not only produces desirable changes in material properties but also causes material damage that may adversely influence the service performance of the material formed. Thus, an investigation is conducted to experimentally quantify such influence for a commonly used steel (the 22MnB5 steel) based on the hot and cold forming processes. For each process, a number of samples are used to conduct a uniaxial tensile test to simulate the forming process. After that, some of the samples are trimmed into a standard shape and then uniaxially extended until fracture to simulate the service stage. Finally, a microstructure test is conducted to analyze the microdefects of the remaining samples. Based on the results of the first two tests, the effect of material damage on the service performance of 22MnB5 steel is analyzed. It is found that the material damages of both the hot and cold forming processes cause reductions in the service performance, such as the failure strain, the ultimate stress, the capacity of energy absorption and the ratio of residual strain. The reductions are generally lower and non-linear in the former process but higher and linear in the latter process. Additionally, it is found from the microstructure analysis that the difference in the reductions of the service performance of 22MnB5 by the two forming processes is driven by the difference in the micro damage mechanisms of the two processes. The findings of this research provide a useful reference in terms of the selection of sheet metal forming processes and the determination of forming parameters for 22MnB5.