On the identification of kinematic hardening material parameters for accurate springback predictions

An experimental method that frequently has been used for the determination of material hardening parameters is the three-point bending test. The advantage of this test is that it is simple to perform, and standard test equipments can be used. The disadvantage is that the material parameters have to be determined by some kind of inverse approach. The test has then been simulated by means of the Finite Element Method, and the material parameters have been determined by finding a best fit to the experimental results by means of a Response Surface Methodology. An alternative method is the tensile/compression test of a sheet strip. In practice such a test is very difficult to perform, due to the tendency of the strip to buckle in compression. In spite of these difficulties some successful attempts to perform cyclic tension/compression tests have been reported in the literature. However, a few writers have reported that there are substantial differences between hardening parameters determined from bending tests and those determined from tensile/compression tests. The purpose of the present study is to try to understand the background of these differences, to find out the influence on predicted springback, and to determine which of the two methodologies for hardening parameter identification is the most suitable one.