An analysis of stretch forming of thermoplastic composites

Abstract Thermoplastic composite sheet materials have found an increasing number of applications through the use of matched‐die compression molding. The combination of high strength, low weight and moderate manufacturing costs makes the material an attractive alternative to sheet metal stampings in a number of applications. However, a significant range of conventional sheet forming techniques may also prove suitable for these materials, provided the effects of strain rate and temperature can be properly understood and exploited, leading to a further reduction of manufacturing costs and an increasing number of potential applications. In this work, limiting strains in biaxial stretch forming were explored using the hemispherical stretch forming test. The materials tested contain 20, 35, and 40 percent by weight of randomly oriented glass fiber in a polypropylene matrix. The forming tests were performed at temperatures ranging from 75°C to 150°C and at punch speeds of 0.01cm/sec, 0.1cm/sec, and 1cm/sec. A rotationally symmetric, anisotropic material model with rate sensitivity was developed and incorporated into an axisymmetric finite element model of the stretch‐forming process. The model parameters were temperature‐dependent, though the temperature distribution in the formed part was assumed to be uniform. Strain distributions in the formed parts are compared to finite element method results, and the results are good up to the point when localized necking begins to dominate the strain distribution. These forming limit strains are compared with predictions based on Marciniak's imperfection theory, with good results.