An efficient multiphysics solid shell based finite element approach for modeling thin sheet metal forming processes

The main objective of this paper is to provide a numerical approach to study thin sheet metals involved in multiphysics manufacturing processes. The proposed approach also accounts for anisotropic plastic defor-mations in the context of modeling of deep drawing process. In this work, different constitutive models are implemented with a prismatic solid shell element to simulate these applications. Moreover, a new element assembly technique has been developed to permit the assembly of prismatic elements in a tetrahedral element -based finite element code. This technique splits the prism into multiple tetrahedral elements in such a way that all the cross terms are accounted for. The numerical approach has been validated using multiple tests that involve different non-linearities: geometric, material and contact. Then, more complex sheet metal processes have been simulated. The performance of the solid shell element with one element through the thickness is very comparable to the results obtained with more refined mesh of a tetrahedral element. This reduction in the number of elements accelerates the simulation, especially in the deep drawing problem and the coupled magnetic-mechanical simulation used for the magnetic pulse forming process.