Modeling of Size Effects on the Flow Stress of Type 304 Stainless Steel and Application in Coining Process

Application of microforming in various research areas has received much attention due to the increased demand for miniature metallic parts that require mass production. For the accurate analysis and design of microforming process, proper modeling of material behavior at the micro/meso-scale is necessary by considering the size effects. Two size effects are known to exist in metallic materials. One is the “grain size” effect, and the other is the “feature/specimen size” effect. This study investigated the “feature/specimen size” effect and introduced a scaling model which combined both feature/specimen and grain size effects. Predicted size effects were compared with experiments obtained from previous research and showed a very good agreement. The model was also applied to forming of micro-features by coining. A flow stress model for Type 304 stainless steel taking into consideration the effect of the grain and feature size was developed and implemented into a finite element simulation tool for an accurate numerical analysis. The scaling model offered a simple way to model the size effect down to length scales of a couple of grains and extended the use of continuum plasticity theories to micro/meso-length scales.