Modeling of Forming Limit Bands for Strain-Based Failure-Analysis of Ultra-High-Strength Steels

Increased passenger safety and emission control are two of the main driving forces in the automotive industry for the development of light weight constructions. For increased strength to weight ratio, ultra-high-strength steels (UHSSs) are used in car body structures. Prediction of failure in such sheet metals is of high significance in the simulation of car crashes to avoid additional costs and fatalities. However, a disadvantage of this class of metals is a pronounced scatter in their material properties due to e.g., the manufacturing processes. In this work, a robust numerical model is developed in order to take the scatter into account in the prediction of the failure in manganese boron steel (22MnB5). To this end, the underlying material properties which determine the shapes of forming limit curves (FLCs) are obtained from experiments. A modified Marciniak–Kuczynski model is applied to determine the failure limits. By using a statistical approach, the material scatter is quantified in terms of two limiting hardening relations. Finally, the numerical solution obtained from simulations is verified experimentally. By generation of the so called forming limit bands (FLBs), the dispersion of limit strains is captured within the bounds of forming limits instead of a single FLC. In this way, the FLBs separate the whole region into safe, necking and failed zones.