Achieving high strains in sheet metal characterization using the
in-plane torsion test
Q. Yin
1, a
, J. Kolbe
1, b
, M. Haupt
1, c
, and A. E. Tekkaya
1, d
1
Institute of Forming Technology and Lightweight Construction,
TU Dortmund University, Baroper Str. 301, D-44227 Dortmund, Germany
a
Qing.Yin@iul.tu-dortmund.de,
b
Joerg.Kolbe@iul.tu-dortmund.de,
c
Marco.Haupt@tu-dortmund.de,
d
Erman.Tekkaya@iul.tu-dortmund.de
Keywords: In-Plane Torsion Test, Sheet Metal Characterization, Flow Curve.
Abstract. The in-plane torsion test is used to determine plastic flow curves for sheet metals. Very
high strains of up to an equivalent strain of 1.0 can be measured since there are no edge effects in a
plane torsion specimen. In combination with optical strain measurement, an efficient evaluation
method for this test was developed. However, the achievable strain varies for each material. The
slippage between the inner clamps and the specimen was found to be one main limiting effect. In
order to improve the clamping capability, different surface corrugations are applied at the inner
clamping tool. Four sheet materials, DC06, DP600, AA6016, and AA5182 are selected for testing
this new clamping setup. While the flow curve of DC06 is determined until a strain of 1.0 and
above, such high values cannot be achieved for the other materials. It can be shown that the
measurable strain can be increased by the choice of the surface corrugation features at the inner
clamping. For the DP steel and the aluminum alloys, the flow curve can be determined until
equivalent plastic strains of 0.5 to 0.6, which is also a significant improvement compared to many
other sheet metal testing methods.
Introduction
In order to design sheet metal forming processes using numerical simulation, the material behavior
has to be identified and described. Modern high strength sheet materials create new challenges for
material characterization. Predicting the strain distribution, sheet thickness, springback behavior,
and formability, numerous material parameters need to be determined. Thus, the measurement of
flow curve, anisotropic yield locus, or kinematic hardening are typical tasks.
For sheet metal characterization various experimental methods to identify the hardening curve
are known from literature. These tests can be classified according to the stress state (Fig. 1a). The
well-known uniaxial tensile test can be seen as a reference test due to its standardized testing
procedure and specimen geometry. On the first quadrant of the yield locus the equi-biaxial stress
state can be achieved by the hydraulic bulge test [1], the biaxial tensile test [2], and the stack
compression test [3]. On the third quadrant uniaxial and biaxial compression tests for sheet material
are known from literature [4]. However, these experiments show a high buckling tendency and,
therefore, require more effort in order to reach noteworthy strains.
For the second and fourth quadrant shear tests are available. One advantage is the constant shear
area, which does not change during deformation. However, shear tests show inhomogeneous stress
and strain distribution due to edge effects. Mainly three different kinds of geometry exist for shear
specimen. The one-sided simple shear specimen represents the basic idea of a simple shear test [5]
(Fig. 1b). By applying a parallel translation at the opposing edges of the shear zone, a rectangular
shear bridge is deformed to a parallelogram. Since the free edges cause inhomogeneity the width to
height ratio of the shear zone should be designed accordingly to ensure an appropriate size of quasi-
homogeneous area in the center. Due to the resulting reaction moment the clamping tools of the
one-sided shear test are very highly loaded. Extensive experimental effort in the clamping procedure
Key Engineering Materials Vols. 554-557 (2013) pp 77-85
© (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland
doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.554-557.77
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