Finite element analysis of the effects of martensitic phase transformation in TRIP steel sheet forming

This paper aims at investigating the effects of the martensitic phase transformation on the formability of unstable austenitic steel sheets. To this end, the constitutive model developed by Iwamoto and Tsuta (International Journal of Plasticity 2002;18:1583-606) has been implemented in the user's material subroutine of the finite element code Abaqus/Explicit. The different contributions of the martensitic transformation to the overall plastic behaviour are analysed with the aim of assessing their influence in sheet-metal forming. The effects of transformation strains, and of the stress-state dependence of the kinetics of phase transformation are critically discussed in the case of the cup drawing test. The simulation results are also compared with experimental cup tests from the literature.