Electromagnetic forming of aluminum alloy strip by imposing inverse current instead of inducing eddy current

In the conventional electromagnetic forming processes, the Lorentz force is induced by the eddy current in the specimen, so the coil should be specifically designed to form the electrical current return. Here, a novel electromagnetic forming method is suggested for aluminum alloy strip or profile, in which the inverse current is imposed instead of eddy current to generate Lorentz force. As an electromagnetic actuator, a very simple strip of copper was connected in parallel with the aluminum alloy strip. When the impulse currents flowed synchronously along the opposite directions between the copper and aluminum alloy strips, the Lorentz force was generated to deform the aluminum alloy strip. The electromagnetic forming of AA5754 aluminum alloy strip by imposing inverse current was investigated by numerical simulation. It was finally validated by comparison with the experimental results.