Int. J. Mech. Sci. Pergamon Press Ltd. 1967. Vol. 9, pp. 609-620.

Printed in Great Britain

LIMIT STRAINS IN THE PROCESSES OF

STRETCH-FORMING SHEET METAL
ZDZISLAW MARCINIAK a n d KAZIMIERZ KUCZYI~SKI
Warsaw, Poland

(Received 10 February 1967)

Summary--The process of the loss of stability is analysed for sheet metal subjected to
biaxial tension when the ratio of the principal stresses 0.5 ~<a~/al ~ 1. The loss of stability
manifests itself by a groove running in a direction perpendicular to the larger principal
stress. In this groove local strains begin to concentrate gradually. In the initial stage of
the process the deepening of the groove is associated with a gradually fading strain in the
regions adjacent to the groove. This fading strain attains a certain limiting value e*.
This paper contains both experimental results and a theoretical analysis of the process
of the generation of the groove based on anisotropic plasticity theory.
The system of equations derived was solved numerically with the aid of a computer,
which enabled the limiting strain of the sheet metal to be determined as a function of the
following properties of the material: (i) Initial inhomogeneity of the sheet metal, (ii)
exponent of the strain-hardening function, (iii) coefficient of normal anisotropy, (iv) initial
plastic strain, (v) strain at which the fracture occurs.
The results are discussed and the properties are described that influence the drawability
of sheet metal used in the stretch-forming process.
1. I N T R O D U C T I O N
AMONG various processes of sheet metal forming there are ones in which the
required shape of a drawpiece is o b t a i n e d b y m e a n s of uniaxial or biaxial

(o)

(c)

N_N

FIo. 1. Examples of the biaxial stretch-forming processes.

stretching of t h e sheet of metal. These processes lead to a n increase in area o f
the sheet m e t a l surface a t the cost of a r e d u c t i o n in its thickness. I n this class
belong: s t r e t c h drawing, h y d r o f o r m i n g , bulging, t u b e bulging a n d the like. I n
the process of deep d r a w i n g the b o t t o m o f a cup undergoes biaxial stretching.
Some examples of the stretch-forming processes are shown in Fig. 1.
6o9

610

ZDZlSLAWMARCI~AKand KAZIMIERZKUCZY~SKI

One of the advantages of the processes belonging to this group is that the
sheet metal is prevented from wrinkling. However, the defect of this method
consists in a relatively small magnitude of strain at which fracture of the sheet
metal takes place. To prevent this then, at no point of the drawpiece should the
strains in the sheet metal exceed a certain limiting value e*. This magnitude
depends upon both the properties of the deformed material and the mode of its
loading, i.e. the ratio of the principal stresses and the loading history. The
object of this paper is to analyse the factors which influence this limiting value
of the strain in the sheet metal under stretching.
A starting point to further considerations is the observed fact that during
the deep drawing of mild steel and plastic materials (those most frequently
used in industrial practice), fracture of the sheet metal does not occur abruptly
b u t is, as a rule, preceded by the loss of stability of the sheet metal. As a result
of this loss of stability the strain concentrations in certain regions of the
drawpiece begin to take place while its remaining parts lying outside the local
thinning either undergo unloading or the plastic strains decrease. Some local
necking of the sheet metal begins to take place and a loss of cohesion takes
place at a certain instant. Thus, the phenomenon of deeohesion should in this
case be looked upon as a secondary one following the former loss of stability.
To determine the limit value of the strain in the sheet metal under stretching
the loss of stability of a shell should first be analysed.
The loss of stability in the process of bulging a circular metal diaphragm
clamped at the circumference and subjected to lateral fluid pressure was
analysed by Hill 1, Swift s, Mellor a and others. It was assumed that the loss of
stability of such a sheet takes place when the increment of its strains occurs
with no simultaneous increase in the pressure. Such a definition of the point of
loss of stability, which is sometimes identified with the point of fracture of the
sheet metal, corresponds to the maximum load which the deformed shell can
suffer under some special loading conditions, i.e. when the deformation of the
shell has no influence upon the magnitude of the pressure acting on its surface-as for example happens when the pressure is exerted b y a gas whose volume is
considerably greater than that of the forming cup.
The above-mentioned definition appears unsuitable for the analysis of the
conditions that lead to the fracture of the sheet metal in a technological
process. The reasons for this are:
(i) Under the actual conditions of press forming which use an almost
incompressible fluid, the extreme pressure reached does not lead to the collapse
of the drawpiece. It can continue to deform in a controlled manner at a
gradually falling pressure. The same applies when forming with a rigid punch
whose drawing force can, in some cases, decrease, b u t the drawpieee is then
found neither to collapse nor to lose its stability.
(ii) The fracture of the sheet metal together with the preceding concentration of strains can occur either before or after the pressure has attained its
extreme value. This phenomenon depends not upon the loss of stability of the
shell as a whole, but only upon the possibility of occurrence of either a local
discontinuity or a local concentration of strains.

Limit strains in stretch-forming sheet metal

611

This d i s c o n t i n u i t y can t a k e the shape of a groove with a reduced thickness.

T h e g r o o v e is inclined to the directions of the principal stresses at such an angle
t h a t its l e n g t h remains c o n s t a n t during the straining process. However, it
should be e m p h a s i z e d t h a t discontinuities of this t y p e follow from the existence
o f the characteristics o f the s y s t e m of equations describing the state of stress
a n d can occur only in a certain stress field, n a m e l y if a S ~<al, where a 1 and a S
are the principal stresses in the shell u n d e r plane stress; a a = 0.
I n m a n y bulging processes the stress state is f o u n d to be one of almost
equal, biaxial tension a n d hence a1 ~<a~ ~<0-1. I n this case the above-discussed
local loss of stability c a n n o t take place.
I n this p a p e r it is shown t h a t in the range 0-1 ~ O"2~ 0-1 a completely new
m e c h a n i s m of the local loss of stability m a y appear. However, in order to
describe this p h e n o m e n o n we m u s t d e p a r t from the t r e a t m e n t of instability as
characterized b y a certain end point, and, instead, analyse it as a certain
process which takes r o o t from a n initial i n h o m o g e n e i t y of the sheet metal. I n
consequence, this process leads to fracture of the sheet m e t a l in the m o s t
strained place. This a p p r o a c h is a d e v e l o p m e n t of the former a u t h o r ' s papers. 5
2. E X P E R I M E N T A L

RESULTS

To investigate experimentally the phenomenon of the loss of stability of the sheet

metal under equal, biaxial tension a special method of sheet metal straining has been
devised. The apparatus employed is shown in Fig. 2. A circular specimen 1, of diameter
215 nun and thickness 1.7 mm is clamped around its circumference by means of an annular

J
FIG. 2.

blank holder, 2. A punch, 3, with a flat bottom exerts a pressure on the testpieee, not
directly, but through a sheet metal ring, 4, which deforms together with the testpiece. Since, during the deformation of the ring, its point elements move in a radial
direction more rapidly than those which would belong to the diaphragm without a hole
frictional, radial forces appear in the region of contact between the specimen with the
ring, 4. This friction prevents the test-piece from fracturing near the rounded edge of
the punch and results in the largest strains taking place in the fiat part of the bottom of

612

ZDZISLAW M~CIZ~IAX a n d KAZIMZ]~RZK U C Z ~ S E I

I-0

09

~...._~

\',/,(

~---"+

o"
0'5
e..

0"4

u
t-

0.3

A 5 The
0.2

x 6 consecutive
o 7 stoges of
n 8 deformation

O.t

+10

FIG. 5. Variation in the thickness of the sheet metal in the plane

perpendicular to the forming groove.
1.2

I'1
w

=0.995.

1.0
tcr -

0"9
O-B

u
o

:o.~ I

--

-'~--~ Expq
0.7

9~

0'98

cui've

0.6
9)
"o

j.

0'5
0.4

o~

0'3

0.2"--

c"

'

0"97

%o_

~(~

0
0'1 O'Z 0-3 0"4 0"5 0-6 0"7 0"8 0,9 1"0 I'1 1.2 1"3
F r o . 6. T h e c o u r s e o f t h e s t r a i n c o n c e n t r a t i o n in t h e g r o o v e .

1.4

peal

necking

Fracture

FIG. 3.

lA= 0.31

*=

o-49

lA= 0.70

E,= 0.85

FIG. 4. Surface of the specimen at the consecutive stages of deformation.

f. p. 61:

Limit strains in stretch-forming sheet metal

613

the cup where the cracks are apt to occur. A grid of straight lines was drawn on the
surface of the specimen and the whole process of sheet metal cracking was filmed.
The observations led to the conclusion that the process of the local loss of stability of
the sheet metal under equal biaxial stretching is somewhat different from that which takes
place during the uniaxial tension of cylindrical specimens. A grid of grooves appears on the
surface of the sheet metal and at these the strains gradually begin to concentrate (Fig. 3).
Differently then from the case of uniaxial tension, the process of the forming and deepening
of the grooves is accomapnied by the gradual disappearance of strains in the sheet metal in
the regions lying outside the grooves. The photograph in Fig. 4 shows the consecutive
stages of the straining process. The dimensions of the squares drawn on the surface of the
sheet metal that lie outside the groove continually increase at consecutive stages in spite
of the neighbourhood of the groove. This process is also illustrated in Fig. 5, which
represents a n experimentally found variation in the thickness of lead sheet metal under
tension along a line perpendicular to the forming groove. The particular lines correspond
to the consecutive stages of the straining process.
Let eiA denote the strain outside the necking zone and ets the strain in the groove. The
course of the process of strain concentration can now be shown in the diagram e~A against
eis, see Fig. 6. The data derived from the experiments on the lead sheet metal are shown
by dots. They form a certain curve (the dashed line) which gradually approaches a straight
line parallel to the axis etB.
3. T H E O R E T I C A L

ANALYSIS

The theoretical analysis of the groove-forming process in the sheet metal subjected to
biaxial stretching will be based on the assumption that the sheet metal exhibits the same
properties in all directions in its plane, b u t its properties in the perpendicular direction,
i.e. through the thickness, are different. This type of anisotropy, termed "normal
anisotropy", can be characterized b y the coefficient of anisotropy
R = e2/e3

(1)

where e2 denotes the strain across the width of the specimen and e8 the strain through its
thickness. The coefficient R will be assumed to remain constant during the straining
process. The plastic properties of such a material axe based on the model of anisotropy
put forward b y Hill s and for the plane state of stress are as follows:
(i) The yield condition is

~ 4 ( 2 R + ] ) a'~ = (R + ]) a~' - 2R~x

{TB

+ (R + ]1 o|

(2)

I n this equation a~ denotes the equivalent yield point for an isotropie material. The
definition of this yield stress is based on the assumption that the area of the yield ellipse
for the anisotropic material given b y the equation (2) is equal to the area of the equivalent
yield ellipse for the isotropic material described b y the equation a~ = a~ - al as + a~.
(ii) The flow law is
de1

de,

des

de~

(R+ l ) a l - R a 2

(R+ l ) a I - R a l

-ax-al

2~][(2R+ l)/3]a~>

(3)

where the increment of representative strain de~ is expressed in terms of the strain
components de 1, de2, des by
4

I t can be readily proved that the increment of the work done b y the plastic deformation
is expressed identically as in the case of the isotropie material b y
dL --- a~ de~
(iii) The strain hardening function will be assumed to be of the form
a~ = c(eo+e~)"

(4)

614

ZDZISLAW MAlZClNIAK a n d KAZlMIERZ KUCZYI~SKI

C o n s i d e r a n e l e m e n t of t h e s t r e s s e d s h e e t A B D C , see Fig. 7, w i t h t h e a b o v e - d e s c r i b e d
p r o p e r t i e s c o n t a i n i n g a g r o o v e t h a t r u n s n o r m a l l y t o t h e d i r e c t i o n of t h e g r e a t e r p r i n c i p a l
stress 01 .
W e shall confine ourselves to t h e case in w h i c h t h e r a t i o of t h e p r i n c i p a l stresses in t h e
region A , o u t s i d e t h e groove, r e m a i n s c o n s t a n t d u r i n g t h e process, t h a t is
d(~lA _ d(~2A _ daaA _ daTA
(~IA

O'2A

O'aA

(5)

O'TA

H e n c e in t h i s region p r o p o r t i o n a l s t r a i n i n g t a k e s place a n d t h e r a t i o of t h e s t r a i n
c o m p o n e n t s is k e p t c o n s t a n t , i.e.
eaA

H~aA
- -d82

--

~2

~x

(6)

O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e stress r a t i o alB/a2B in t h e groove, t h e region B , does g r a d u a l l y

c h a n g e as t h e n o n - h o m o g e n e i t y of t h e s h e e t develops. A t e v e r y i n s t a n t t h e c o n d i t i o n is

II

tto
A

c l I Ill

FIG. 7.
satisfied of t h e c o n s t a n c y of t h e u n i t force t r a n s m i t t e d across t h e g r o o v e a n d t h e a d j a c e n t
m a t e r i a l in t h e d i r e c t i o n p e r p e n d i c u l a r to t h e groove. S u p p o s e a t a c e r t a i n i n s t a n t t h e
t h i c k n e s s of t h e s h e e t m e t a l o u t s i d e t h e g r o o v e is t A while t h a t i n t h e g r o o v e is t B, tB < tA.
T h e e q u i l i b r i u m of t h e forces p e r p e n d i c u l a r t o t h e g r o o v e r e q u i r e s t h a t
fflA tA = (71BtB

(7)

Intredueing
u-

~ / [ 3 ( 2 R + 1)] a~,
4 1 2 ( R + 1 ) ] aT~

e q u a t i o n (7) c a n b e w r i t t e n i n t h e f o r m
~/[2(R + 1)]

alA tA -- ~ / [ 3 ( 2 R + 1)] a T B t B u

(8)

O n d i f f e r e n t i a t i n g we o b t a i n a differential e q u a t i o n d e s c r i b i n g t h e process of g r o o v e
formation,
dO'lA + deaA = d a u b + de aB + d u
(T1A

(T~B

where
dt A

deaA = ~A

dtB
deaB = t ~

B e a r i n g in m i n d t h e r e l a t i o n (5), t h i s e q u a t i o n a s s u m e s t h e f o r m
d u -- daTA

d a u b + deaA -- deaB

(9)

Limit strains in stretch-forming sheet metal

615

The terms appearing on the right-hand side of the equation can be most conveniently
expressed by a function of the common strain of both regions of the sheet in the direction
(2).
de~ = dg2A = deaB
(10)
The strain 82 will be treated as an independent parameter of the straining process. On
differentiating the strain-hardening function (4) we obtain the relationships
da~A = n
(Irma

deiA

( 11 )

deiB

(12)

Eo + EiA

and
d(T~B -(T~B

n
8 0 + EiB

Employing the flow law equation (3), and the assumption equation (4), the magnitudes
8iA, etB, deiA and de~B occurring in equations (11) and (12) can be expressed as the following
functions of the component 82 :
- - = - - = d8tA
eiA +24[(R+l)a2+a+l]_
d82
82
~/[3(2R + 1)]
deiB = _+

(13)

4(1_u2 )

(14)

and

<,o>
-

4(1-u~)

the strain increments deaA and desB through the thickness can be made dependent upon the
increment of the parameter ev According to equation (6), we have
desA = ade2

(16)

and
deaB =

u 4(2R+ 1)+4(1 - u ~)
( ~ i ~ ] ~ ) u 2)
de2

(17)

Substituting from equations (11-17) into equation (9) and rearranging, we finally arrive
at the differential-integral equation

_du_ --

[A +~___L_+
Be,
Cu- D + B

f[d~l.4~)

4(1 - u ~ )

E1

I d~

(18)

which gives a relation between the strain component 82 and the coefficient u characterizing
the stress state in the groove. The constants A, B, C, D and E, appearing in this equation
depend merely upon the properties of the material under deformation R, n, e0 and the
loading program for the sheet a. They are found to be
A =

eo~/[3(2R+

1)

2n4[(R+ 1) a * + a +
B=-

1
n

c = 4(2R + 1)

R+I
D

-~

n 412/(R + 1)] ~ [ ( 2 R + 1)/3]

616

ZDZISLAW MARCINIAK and KAZIMIERZ KUCZY~SKI

4. R E S U L T S

AND

CONCLUSIONS

The solution of e q u a t i o n (18) enables the u n k n o w n functions u = u(s~) and e ~ = ~is(e2)

to be found p r o v i d e d the initial conditions regarding the initial i n h o m o g e n e i t y t~/t,4 of the
sheet are given. An a p p r o x i m a t e d e t e r m i n a t i o n of those functions o b t a i n e d w i t h the help
of a c o m p u t e r are shown b y t h e solid lines in the d i a g r a m in Fig. 6. I t refers to the case
of the equal biaxial tension a S = al for the isotropic material R -- 1 w i t h t h e strainhardening e x p o n e n t n = 0.2 and the initial hardening e0 -- 0.00136. These d a t a correspond
to the properties of t h e lead sheet used in the tests. The particular lines refer to t h e different
values of the coefficient f = tB/t A of the initial i n h o m o g e n e i t y of the sheet material. Since
t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l l y o b t a i n e d points lie b e t w e e n the lines corresponding to the initial
i n h o m o g e n e i t y f = 0.98 and f = 0.99 it can be ascertained t h a t the initial i n h o m o g e n e i t y
of the sheet m e t a l used was contained b e t w e e n the two limits. The d i a g r a m shows t h a t the
theoretical predictions are well confirmed by the e x p e r i m e n t a l observations. I n particular,
at the initial stage of the loss of stability of the sheet the f o r m a t i o n of the groove, or the
n e t of grooves, is associated with the g r a d u a l l y fading strains of t h e sheet in the region
a d j a c e n t to the groove. A t the point C the strain eA attains a limiting value which will be
henceforth designated b y e*. I t will be t r e a t e d as the value of the limit strain sought which
t h e sheet m e t a l u n d e r tension is able to suffer before t h e local instability develops.
A f t e r the p o i n t C is exceeded the strains concentrate in the grooves, while the remaining
parts of the sheet undergo unloading a n d r e v e r t to the elastic state. This implies complete
loss of stability.
F r o m the presented considerations it follows t h a t the solution of e q u a t i o n (18) yields
the value of the strain which the sheet m e t a l can undergo outside the groove up to complete
loss of stability. The m a g n i t u d e e* depends b o t h on t h e loading p r o g r a m m e of the sheet,
the ratio of the principal stresses (YlA/[YlAand t h e following properties of the m a t e r i a l u n d e r
d e f o r m a t i o n : (i) t h e initial i n h o m o g e n e i t y of t h e sheet f = tB/t A, (ii) the coefficient of
n o r m a l a n i s o t r o p y R, (iii) t h e e x p o n e n t n of the strain-hardening curve, a n d (iv) the initial
s t r a i n - h a r d e n i n g e0.
Varying, in turn, the m a g n i t u d e s of the above-listed m a t e r i a l constants as well as the
ratio 01A/(Y2A, w i t h the o t h e r p a r a m e t e r s k e p t constant, the influence of each of the factors
on the limiting value of t h e strain can be investigated.
I t is, however, the initial i n h o m o g e n e i t y of t h e m a t e r i a l f -- tB/t A which exerts the
greatest influence upon t h e limiting strain ~*. I n the analysis presented a b o v e only
t h e geometrical i n h o m o g e n e i t y of t h e sheet m e t a l was t a k e n into account, caused b y the
changes in its thickness and disregarding the changes in the plastic properties. The same
result will be arrived at if the i n h o m o g e n e i t y of the sheet m e t a l results from a n o n - u n i f o r m
distribution of impurities, v a r y i n g t e x t u r e , different size and orientation of grains and so
on. These t y p e s of physical i n h o m o g e n e i t y can always be reduced to t h e e q u i v a l e n t
geometrical i n h o m o g e n e i t y a n d t h u s expressed by the coefficient f.
Fig. 8 shows t h a t the value of the limiting strain increases v e r y rapidly as the
i n h o m o g e n e i t y of t h e m a t e r i a l diminishes, i.e. as the coefficient f increases. F o r the fully
homogeneous material, f = 1, this strain a t t a i n s a n infinitely large value.
Thus, for a relatively homogeneous sheet m e t a l e v e n slight changes in the i n h o m o g e n e i t y
coefficient f exert a v e r y strong influence on the process of the loss of stability and cause a
substantial change in t h e m a g n i t u d e of t h e limiting strain e*. The enormous sensitivity
of t h e sheet m e t a l u n d e r stretching to the degree of its i n b o m o g e n e i t y is the reason for
the considerable scatter in e x p e r i m e n t a l results and introduces a persistent degree of
uncertainty. The degree of the i n h o m o g e n e i t y of a given specimen or a sheet m e t a l blank
can n e v e r be foreseen.
The influence of the coefficient of n o r m a l a n i s o t r o p y R is shown in Fig. 9. Its increase
makes for the loss of stability and causes a decrease in t h e limiting strain e*. Contrariwise,
in t h e drawing processes an increase in R enhances t h e drawability of the sheet metal.
Fig. 10 shows t h a t the increase in t h e e x p o n e n t n of the strain-hardening f u n c t i o n
diminishes the t e n d e n c y of the sheet m e t a l to lose its stability and causes an increase in the
limiting strain. H o w e v e r , it is significant t h a t e v e n in t h e case of a n o n - h a r d e n i n g material,
n = 0, t h e sheet m e t a l retains a certain ability to deform u n d e r tension. I n the case of t h e
uniaxial tension of cylindrical, n o n - h a r d e n i n g specimens no uniform elongations occur.

L i m i t strains in stretch-forming sheet m e t a l

617

The influence of t h e initial strain-hardening so of t h e m a t e r i a l on t h e v a l u e s* is s h o w n

in Fig. 11. The limiting v a l u e of the strain in the sheet decreases slightly as t h e initial
strain s o increases.

0'(

N~

o:0.05
~:o"

0.5

6
"6

0-4

._~
-J

0.3

0"2
O.I
0.98

0'96

0.94

0"92

F I G . 8. I n f l u e n c e o f i n i t i a ] n o n - h o m o g e n e i t y

0.90

of the sheet meta] on

the limit strain.

6o:0.05 - 0.5

0.4

0'3

.J

0.2
0.1

0.8

I-0

1'2

1.4

FIG. 9. Influence of a n i s o t r o p y R on the limit strain.

J

o.

"w 0.5

/
.--_

0-3

0.2

4o t o e 5

0.1
o

o.t

o.z

o-~

o.4

0.5

Fxo. 10. Influence of strain-hardening n on the limit strain.

The a b o v e considerations h a v e been concerned m e r e l y w i t h the p h e n o m e n o n of t h e loss
o f stability of sheet m e t a l u n d e r stretching disregarding the possibility of its fracture
41

618

ZDZISLA~,V MARCI~IAK a n d KAZIMIERZ KUCZYI~SKI

d u r i n g t h e process. H o w e v e r , t h e process of t h e d e e p e n i n g of t h e g r o o v e c a n b e a t a
c e r t a i n i n s t a n t s t o p p e d d u e t o t h e f r a c t u r e of t h e s h e e t m e t a l a t t h e m o s t w e a k e n e d
place, t h a t is a l o n g t h e groove. W i t h o u t l o o k i n g d e e p e r i n t o t h e c r i t e r i o n of t h e loss of
c o h e s i o n of t h e m a t e r i a l i t c a n b e r o u g h l y a s s u m e d t h a t , for a g i v e n m a t e r i a l , a g i v e n m o d e
of t h e d e f o r m a t i o n , i.e. t h e r a t i o a l / a 2 a n d t h e l o a d i n g h i s t o r y , d e c o h e s i o n t a k e s place w h e n
t h e l a r g e s t s t r a i n a t f r a c t u r e a t t a i n s a c e r t a i n l i m i t i n g v a l u e @. T h i s v a l u e m a y b e looked
u p o n as one m o r e m a g n i t u d e t h a t c h a r a c t e r i z e s t h e p r o p e r t i e s of t h e m a t e r i a l trader
deformation.

J n=025
0'5

R=I

0"4
..

0"3

(#)

0.2
E
--I

0"1

0.1
0.2
0"3
0.4
0.5
0
FIG. 11. I n f l u e n c e of initial s t r a i n ~0 on t h e lhYdt s t r a i n .

;= ,

.F.

m
(fl

Of2

~f3

~f

FIG. 12. I n f l u e n c e of decohesion s t r a i n @ o n t h e l i m i t strain.

T h e influence of t h e v a l u e ~/on t h e l i m i t i n g s t r a i n e* c a n b e a n a l y s e d in Fig. 12. F o r

h a r d a n d s l i g h t l y p l a s t i c m a t e r i a l s , w h e n @ < e*, t h e p h e n o m e n o n of d e c o h e s i o n is a d e c i d i n g
f a c t o r as to t h e v a l u e of t h e a l l o w a b l e s t r a i n in t h e s h e e t m e t a l . F r a c t u r e occurs a t t h e
p o i n t P1 (Fig. 12) w h i c h lies a t t h e v e r y b e g i n n i n g o f t h e process o f g r o o v e f o r m a t i o n . T h e
l i m i t i n g s t r a i n is t h e n a l m o s t equal t o t h e f r a c t u r e s t r a i n , e* ~@. F o r m o r e p l a s t i c m a t e r i a l s
f r a c t u r e t a k e s place a t t h e p o i n t P8 a n d t h e influence of t h e v a l u e ey o n t h e l i m i t i n g s t r a i n
is c o n s i d e r a b l y less p r o n o u n c e d . F r a c t u r e a p p e a r s w h e n t h e s t r a i n in t h e s h e e t m e t a l
o u t s i d e t h e g r o o v e a p p r o a c h e s t h e l i m i t i n g s t r a i n a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e loss of s t a b i l i t y of t h e
sheet. F o r a m a t e r i a l w i t h s u c h d i s t i n c t p l a s t i c p r o p e r t i e s as h a v e a l u m i n i u m , lead a n d t h e
like f r a c t u r e occurs a t t h e p o i n t Pa l y i n g f a r t o t h e r i g h t of t h e p o i n t C w h i c h c o r r e s p o n d s
to t h e c o m p l e t e loss of s t a b i l i t y of t h e sheet. I n t h i s case t h e v a l u e of t h e s t r a i n a t f r a c t u r e
E1 e x e r t s n o influence u p o n t h e l i m i t i n g s t r a i n e*, w h i c h d e p e n d s solely u p o n t h e process o f
t h e loss of s t a b i l i t y a n d is e q u a l to t h e o r d i n a t e of t h e p o i n t C, e~ = ecW h e n a c c o u n t is t a k e n of t h e decohesion of t h e m a t e r i a l t h e l i m i t i n g s t r a i n e*, w h i c h t h e
s h e e t m e t a l c a n suffer p r i o r t o its f r a c t u r e while t h e r a t i o a l / a s is k e p t c o n s t a n t , c a n b e
e x p r e s s e d as a f u n c t i o n of t h e p r o p e r t i e s of t h e m a t e r i a l

L i m i t strains in stretch-forming sheet m e t a l

619

To i n v e s t i g a t e t h e influence of the p a r t i c u l a r variables in t h e n e i g h b o u r h o o d of a

certain point, this relationship can be expressed in t h e f o r m of t h e t o t a l differential
de*

c~ *

..

c~e*

c~e*

c~e *

~e*

- x w d f - b ~ - d g q - - x - - d n T - z - - de0q--~r-dep

Making use of t h e d a t a o b t a i n e d f r o m t h e c o m p u t e r and shown in Figs. 8-12, t h e values

of the partial d e r i v a t i v e s in the n e i g h b o u r h o o d of a p o i n t can be determined. F o r example,
for a m a t e r i a l whose plastic properties are described b y f = 0.95, R = 1, n = 0.25,
s0 = 0.05, st t> 6, t h e t o t a l differential of t h e f u n c t i o n u n d e r discussion in t h e v i c i n i t y of the
a b o v e fixed p o i n t (depicted b y a circle in Figs. 8-12) assumes t h e form
ds* = 7 . 4 d r - 0.294dR q- 1.25dn - 0.76de0.

(19)

There can t h e n be predicted the influence of using m a t e r i a l w i t h properties differing by

dr, dR, dn, de0 and dsf, u p o n t h e v a l u e of the limiting strain e*.
F r o m t h e a b o v e considerations it follows t h a t those kinds of sheet m e t a l which exhibit
t h e largest value of t h e limiting strain, and hence t h e best drawability, h a v e the following
properties :
(a) A high h o m o g e n e i t y , i.e. a uniform thickness, a homogeneous, fine-grained
s t r u c t u r e a n d t h e absence of i m p u r i t i e s ; and
(b) A n ability to strain h a r d e n extensively, i.e. t h e h a r d e n i n g e x p o n e n t n should be
high and t h e initial h a r d e n i n g s o low.
The value of the coefficient of a n i s o t r o p y R has a secondary effect on the b e h a v i o u r
of t h e sheet m e t a l in this t y p e of forming.
F o r t h e sake of comparison let us q u o t e an analogous e q u a t i o n referred to the process
of deep drawing and t a k e n from a n o t h e r p a p e r b y t h e authors,
ds* = 0.3 d r + 0.13 dR - 0.27 d n + 0.15 de0.

(20)

I t is seen t h a t t h e influence of the p a r t i c u l a r m a t e r i a l properties on the limiting strain

depends u p o n the technological process involved. F o r example, a decrease in t h e limiting
strain due to the i n h o m o g e n e i t y of the m a t e r i a l appears to be m a n y times greater in t h e
case of stretching t h a n in t h e case of deep-drawing. On t h e o t h e r hand, an increase in t h e
coefficient of a n i s o t r o p y R leads to b e t t e r d r a w a b i l i t y of t h e sheet m e t a l and, at the same
time, causes a d e t e r i o r a t i o n in its b e h a v i o u r u n d e r tension. Similar differences occur as
w i t h other properties of the material.

o:

,!

n=0.25
%=0.05
f =0.95

0.4 \

0-3 ~
0-2

E
-,I

O.i

~'~

0'9

0"8

"~-~

0'7

FIG: 13. Influence of stress ratio

0"6
(Y=/O"1 o n

0-5

0"~"

the limit strain.

The results presented in Figs. 8-12 refer to equal biaxial tension, al = as. I t should,
however, be r e m e m b e r e d t h a t t h e process of losing stability also depends u p o n t h e ratio
of t h e principal stresses. As seen in Fig. 13 t h e s t a t e of equal biaxial tension proves m o s t
a d v a n t a g e o u s because it leads to t h e largest value of t h e limiting strain e*. As the ratio
~2/al decreases t h e strain e* also decreases rapidly a n d a t t a i n s its m i n i m u m w h e n
a2/al = 0.5 which m e a n s t h a t a plane s t a t e of strain prevails, i.e. e2 = 0.

620

ZDZISLA'~VMARCINIAKand KAZIMIERZ KUCZY~SKI

A conclusion can therefore be d r a w n t h a t w h e n bulging an elliptical or r e c t a n g u l a r

shape t h e limiting strain of t h e sheet m e t a l will be considerably smaller t h a n in t h e case
of a circular one. I t can also be p o i n t e d out t h a t the m o s t probable direction of the groove
will be perpendicular to the direction of the greater principal stress.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

R.
H.
P.
Z.
R.

HILL, Phil. Mag. 41, ser. 7, 1133 (1950).

W. SWIFT, J. mech. Phys. Solids 1, 1 (1952).
B. MELLOR, Engineer, Lond. March 25 (1960).
MARCINIAK, Archwm. ~Iech. stosow. 4, 17 (1965).
HILL, The Mathematical Theory of Plasticity. Oxford U n i v e r s i t y Press (1950).