Numerical simulation of the hydraulic bulge test of HSLA steel and experimental verification of results

In sheet metal forming operations the mechanical properties of the sheet metal (stress-strain curve, flow stress) greatly influence metal flow and product quality. Accurate determination of the stress-strain relationship is important in process simulation by finite element method. In this paper the sheet thickness gradation in different points of the hemisphere formed in the bulge test is analyzed, both by simulation and experimentally. A precise determination of sheet thickness at the pole is very important in the precise determination of stress-strain relationship. The aim of this paper is to show on some aspects of numerical simulation of hydraulic bulge test and experimental verification of obtained results.