Fracture limits of sheet metals under stretch bending

Fracture limits in sheet stretch bending were theoretically obtained on the assumption that the fracture occurs when the stretching force reaches its maximum value. From the calculated results, a fracture criterion has been presented where limit wall stretch, Lmax/L0 (Lmax: limit wall length of a sheet, L0: initial wall length), is explicitly given as a function of the non-dimensional bending curvature, t0/Rt0/R (t0: sheet thickness, R: bending radius) and the material's work hardening exponent (n-value). To verify this criterion, three-point stretch bending tests with various punch-radii were performed on three types of aluminum sheets (A5182-O, JIS6061-T4 and JIS6N01-T5). The predicted limit wall stretch, as well as limit forming height, were in good agreement with the experimental results.