Modeling of material failure of press-hardened steel for shear cutting considering a pre-damage in the austenitic state

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Bernd-Arno Behrens
• Subject Area: Primary Shaping and Reshaping Technology, Additive Manufacturing
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 511827546

Two-stage shear cutting is an energy-saving cutting process for hardenable steels. In this process, the steel sheet is pre-cut in the warm state during hot forming (hot cutting) and then completely separated in a subsequent process (hard cutting). The advantages of two-stage shear cutting are that less force is required for cutting than for hard cutting. Therefore, less wear and tear of the tools and an increased tool life can be expected. Compared to laser cutting, two-stage shear cutting requires less energy, which makes the process more resource-efficient, especially in series production. The quality of the cut edges is also better than with hot and hard cutting, since two-stage shear cutting combines the advantages of both cutting processes. With two-stage shear cutting, the burr content is lower than with hot cutting and the breakage rate is smaller compared to hard cutting. So far, no commercial or non-commercial material and simulation models for the simulation of the two-stage shear cutting of 22MnB5 are known, which take into account the pre-damage, the temperature dependence and the dependence of the forming speed. Therefore, the goal of this research project is the numerical modeling of the two-step shear cutting of 22MnB5. The deformation and failure behaviour at elevated temperatures as well as at room temperature and the pre-damage in the austenite area as well as its effect on further forming at room temperature are considered.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants