Abstract:The effect of bending pre-strain and pressure on the forming behavior of AA5052-H32 sheets has been studied using a shock tube. Various forming parameters like dome height, effective strain and stress distribution, hardness, and grain size evolution have been measured. Circular grids are printed on the sheets and Hill’s 1948 yield criterion is used to calculate the effective strain distribution. The effective stress distribution is calculated by using the Hollomon’s power law. The strain evolution during the forming process is monitored by mounting a strain rosette at the mid location of the sheet. The strain-time graph confirms the sharp rise in the peak strain and it increases significantly at higher pressure. The variation in the forming parameters asserts that the material stretches uniformly without strain localization. The optical microstructures also depict that the equiaxed grains are stretched and elongated after the shock deformation. This analysis confirms that the forming behavior of the material is dependent both on the degree of pre-strain and the change in pressure.

Key words: shock wave; impact; bending pre-strain; formability