A numerical and experimental investigation of AZ31 formability at elevated temperatures using a constant strain rate test

The research activity reported in the present paper aims to evaluate the Forming Limit Curves (FLC) of the Mg alloy AZ31 in warm conditions (200 °C) while keeping the equivalent strain rate constant. Specific tools to carry out such a formability test were designed and created: a flat punch (in line with Marciniak's test) embedding a heating system was adopted in order to heat the central part of the specimen both rapidly and uniformly, where ruptures were forced due to the presence of a driving sheet between the specimen and the punch. A Digital Image Correlation system was also embedded in the formability equipment in order to acquire major and minor strains continuously and evaluate the moment and location of failures. Finite Element simulations were run in order to define punch speed profiles (which differ according to the geometry of the specimen) that were able to keep a constant equivalent strain rate in the region where ruptures were forced. Experimental tests implementing the punch speed profiles were carried out in order to obtain temperature, load and strain data. FLCs at two different strain rate levels (0.02 s-1 and 0.002 s-1) both confirmed and allowed us to quantify the noticeable strain rate effect of such an alloy on the FLC at a temperature of 200 °C. The proposed approach for FLC evaluation is effective for materials whose properties are strongly influenced by the strain rate. Such FLC data can be usefully implemented in numerical simulations of sheet metal forming processes: while tensile tests can be used to determine variations in mechanical behaviour according to the strain rate, the FLCs evaluated in this work allow us to determine the occurrence of strain path-dependent critical conditions according to the strain rate.