Experimental and numerical investigation into the effect of different pressure curves on the thickness variations in hydroforming process of metal plates

In the present work, experimental and numerical results of the effects of different pressure curve on the thickness variation of sheet metal and distribution of radius and hoop strain for effective stress-strain curve have been presented. A series of experiments are carried out using a hydroforming apparatus by exerting different pressure curves including pendulous, steeped, saw and continuous. In each series, the effect of changes in pressure curve on thickness distribution was quantitatively measured. Different pressure curves such as continuous, stepped, and pendulous was produced in experiments. The ABACUS software was implemented to simulate the effect of changes in pressure curve. A good agreement between the experimental and numerical results was observed. The results show that stepped pressure produces more uniform distribution in sheet metal thickness. Mechanical behavior of sheet metal during plastic deformation phase under stepped pressure, produced satisfactory results, and using this type of pressure could control the effects of friction between the die surface and sheet metal specimen much better. Also, constant time duration of pressure pulses in stepped and pendulous curves leads to decreasing of maximum pressure needed for deformation of sheets.