Anticlastic curvature in draw-bend springback

Draw-bend springback shows a sudden decline as the applied sheet tension approaches the force to yield the strip. This phenomenon coincides with the appearance of persistent anticlastic curvature, which develops during the forming operation and is maintained during unloading under certain test conditions. In order to understand the mechanics of persistent anticlastic curvature and its dependence on forming conditions, aluminum sheet strips of widths ranging from 12 to 50mm were draw-bend tested with various sheet tensions and tool radii. Finite element simulations were also carried out, and the simulated and measured springback angle and anticlastic curvature were compared. Analytical methods based on large deformation bending theory for elastic plates were employed to understand the occurrence and persistence of the anticlastic curvature. The results showed that the final shape of a specimen cross-section is determined by a dimensionless parameter, which is a function of sheet width, thickness and radius of the primary curvature in the curled region of an unloaded sample. When the normalized sheet tension approaches 1, this parameter rapidly decreases, and significant anticlastic deflection is retained after unloading. The retained anticlastic curvature greatly increases the moment of inertia for bending, and thus reduces springback angle. 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.