Computer Aided Design and Analysis of Conical Forming Dies Subjected to Blast load R. Alipour 1,a * , A. Frokhi Nejad 1,b , S. Izman 1,c , and M.N. Tamin 1,d 1 Faculty of mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia a aroozbeh2@live.utm.my, b alifarokhinejad@live.com, c izman@fkm.utm.my, d taminm.fkm.utm.my * aroozbeh2@live.utm.my Keywords: Explosive Forming, CAD/CAE, Finite Element Analysis Abstract. In this paper design and analysis a die meant to cone explosive forming have been investigated. Since the explosive forming dies are subjected to blast loading, failure is too likely to pass. Likewise, the special geometry such as existing the several holes, sealing grooves, vacuum channel and fillets of this type of dies under explosion wave makes their analysis complicated. In the present work, the die was designed according to the final product dimension assisting a design software. In the next step the die under blast loading was analyzed using finite element method utilizing FEM software. The outcomes exhibit that the die is capable to withstand the explosion load. Besides, the trend of this paper is recommended as a routine for the designers who are going to design these types of dies. Introduction After 1970's, It has been used to produce different components for aerospace industries [1]. The United States, Japan and European countries are the largest users of this technology [2]. In couple recent decades a lot of researches have been done about explosive forming [3-5]. Cone forming is one of the complicated processes in sheet metal forming area. In conventional drawing methods, failure and wrinkles are too likely to happen on the specimens [6, 7]. Therefore, conical parts are normally made by spinning [8, 9], explosive forming [1, 10], or multi-stage deep drawing processes [10]. In the case of the explosive forming approaches, designers deal with different type of problems. It is recognized that one of the crucial parts of the production of a sheet metal forming is die design [11]. Fundamental discrepancies between explosive forming facilities and conventional forming equipments step up the nature of the explosion load that the die material needs to resist. In explosive forming, super impulsive loads shift shock waves through the metal that bring uncommon stress types within the die material. Shock waves cause the die to fracture along lines from the corners, rather than through the thinnest section as in static fracture. Fig. 1 shows the modes of fracture for conditions of static and dynamic (shock) loading [12]. Sealing and vacuuming the die cavity are the other problems that the designers are faced with them. Aside from abovementioned issues, the nonexistence of the sufficient and explicit standards for designing explosive forming dies makes their analysis unavoidable. In the present work, a die for forming the conical geometry subjected to blast loading has been designed and analyzed. Designing process has been carried out associated with similarity between deep drawing and explosive forming process using CATIA software. In the next step, in order to investigate the die tolerate versus explosive load, a finite element analysis has been implemented using Abaqus software. The outcomes indicate that the designed die has acceptable performance, subjected to explosive loading. Design Process To achieve an effective and capable design, a clear image of the process needs to be given to the designer. Fig. 2 shows and overview of die explosive process. Applied Mechanics and Materials Vol. 735 (2015) pp 50-56 Submitted: 08.08.2014 © (2015) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland Revised: 14.11.2014 doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.735.50 Accepted: 01.12.2014 All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of TTP, www.ttp.net. (ID: 161.139.220.91-05/02/15,07:06:06)