A simple model to simulate electromagnetic sheet free bulging process

Electromagnetic sheet forming is a high-velocity forming process driven by the coupled electromagnetic and mechanical phenomena. The deformation of the workpiece is governed by the body forces (Lorentz forces) that results from a pulsed magnetic field produced by a flat spiral coil. Formability can be increased using this high-velocity forming technique due to the inertial forces and high strain rates. In this study, we consider the electromagnetic and the mechanical aspect of the process as two independent problems. The finite difference method has been employed to solve the electromagnetic equations. The pressure acting on the sheet and due to the Lorentz forces is estimated neglecting the influence of the sheet velocity on the magnetic field. Then it has been treated as a load in the mechanical problem. Numerical simulations of the mechanical problem have been performed with the commercial finite element code ABAQUS/Explicit. The magnetic pressure has been introduced in ABAQUS/Explicit as an analytical pressure distribution. The general objective of this study is to better understand the complex phenomenon of deformation and the influence of viscoplastic material behaviour during the simulation of a free bulging electromagnetic sheet forming process. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.