Theoretical model for temperature prediction in Incremental Sheet Forming – Experimental validation

• Temperature prediction is an important issue to understand the forming mechanics in general.
• In forming, temperature distribution depends on the process parameters choice.
• A model based on practical formulae was proposed to predict the temperature changes.
• Experimental validation of the model was carried out on two lightweight alloys.
• An algorithm was implemented for maintaining the temperature in a desired range.

Temperature prediction is a fundamental aspect of material workability and microstructural evolution. The need to predict temperatures is particularly important for processes where temperature is not a fixed a priori as well as in processes where temperature is affected by multiple variables. Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) is one such process and it is considered particularly relevant in this discussion because the process parameters chosen are the ones that most affect temperature variation in the forming area. The aim of this paper is to define a temperature prediction model based on mathematical formulae. This model can be used to predict the temperature of the material during the forming phase using different process parameters. Two lightweight alloys with different thermal properties were studied. An aluminium and a titanium were chosen because their differences guarantee the generality of the model. Experimental tests were performed to calibrate and validate the quality of the proposed model. An iterative algorithm was implemented to predict the temperature trend of the sheet. Satisfactory results have been found confirming the physical hypothesis made to justify the phenomenon of temperature increase in ISF as well as the reliability of temperature prediction during the process.

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