Thinning and springback prediction of Mg alloy AZ31 in deep drawing process – Influence of BHF and friction conditions

Magnesium is nowadays the lighter metal used in structural applications with expressive advantages over steel and aluminum. Due to its low density and high specific strength, magnesium alloys represent a promising alternative, especially for applications in automobile industry, being used in structural components in order to reduce weight and, consequently, improve fuel efficiency. In the recent decades, several researches have been performed in order to improve the use of Mg alloys in forming process since its formability is strongly affected by some conditions as temperature. In this study, a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is performed to simulate the sheet metal deep drawing process of the magnesium alloy AZ31. The main objective is to evaluate the effect of the blank holder force and friction conditions in the formability by predicting results of springback, thickness distribution and thinning of the sheet metal blank. In total, 54 simulations were performed.