Study of the Tool Geometry Influence in Indentation for the Analysis and Validation of the New Modular Upper Bound Technique

Focusing on incremental bulk metal forming processes, the indentation process is gaining interest as a fundamental part of these kinds of processes. This paper presents the analysis of the pressure obtained in indentation under the influence of different punch geometries. To this end, an innovative Upper Bound Theorem (UBT) based solution is introduced. This new solution can be easily applied to estimate the necessary force that guarantees plastic deformation by an indentation process. In this work, we propose an accurate analytical approach to analyse indentation under different punches. The new Modular Upper Bound (MUB) method presents a simpler and faster application. Additionally, its complexity is not considerably increased by the addition of more Triangular Rigid Zones. In addition, a two-dimensional indentation model is designed and implemented using the Finite Element Method (FEM). The comparison of the two methods applied to the indentation process analysed—the new Modular Upper Bound technique and the Finite Element Method—reveal close similarities, the new Modular Upper Bound being more computationally efficient.