Releasing algorithm for volumetric locking in metal forming process simulation based on element-free Galerkin method

The meshless methods effectively deal with large material distortion simulation. Based on the rigid (visco)plastic material model, the element-free Galerkin method (EFGM) is introduced to simulate the metal forming processes. Aiming at the volume locking and pressure oscillation during EFGM analysis, a volumetric strain rate mapping method is proposed based on pressure projection method. The releasing algorithm is established by modifying the volumetric strain rate in the functional equation. The volumetric strain rate calculated according to velocity field is mapped onto a lower-order space to reduce the number of independent discrete constrain equations. The numerical example shows that the releasing algorithm can effectively eliminate the volumetric locking and pressure oscillation without the expense of employing large support size in the rigid-plastic meshless method.