ARCHIVES OF CIVIL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Vol. III

2003

No. 1

Experimental study of the influence of blankholder

force on spring-back of sheet metal
BOGDAN CHIRITA
University of Bacau, Romania
Spring-back is the main defect of the U-shaped parts. After removal of tools, the U-shaped part
undergoes significant modification of the angles between the bottom, the sidewall and the flange, and also
a curvature of the sidewall appears. The blankholder force is an important factor in controlling the size of
spring-back parameters. The present paper is an experimental study of how blankholder force influences
spring-back phenomenon.
Keywords: sheet metal forming, U-bending, spring-back, blankholder force

1. Introduction
In sheet metal forming processes, at the end of the operation the blank being formed
conforms closely to the shape of tools. After the load is released and the tools are removed the U-shaped part undergoes significant changes of its geometrical and shape
parameters. This phenomenon is called a spring-back.
Spring-back parameters are mainly influenced by the following factors: punch and die
radii, initial clearance, friction conditions, blankholder force and blankholder geometry,
geometry of draw beads, sheet thickness, elastic modulus, Poissons coefficient, blank
material, and constitutive behaviour of the material in plastic field [1], [3], [4].
According to professional literature during the forming process of the U-shaped part,
the sidewall suffers complicated bending and stretching phenomena. The stress distribution through the thickness of the sidewall is the following: the side near the die is subjected to tensile stress and the side near the punch to compressing stress, which would
promote a residual bending moment a result in sidewall curl. Introducing a considerable
blankholder force into the forming process is useful in removing sidewall curl. When the
blankholder force is increased, namely increasing the flow resistance of the material, the
stress distribution through the thickness of the sidewall may be turned to tensile stress
over the whole section. Accordingly, spring-back directions of both sides become consistent, which is conducive to decreasing shape distortion [2].
However, the increase of the blankholder force over a certain limit leads to a greater
possibility of crack and fracture appearance.
A method used to diminish the spring-back intensity is described by Liu et al. [2] and
consists in applying a variable blankholder force starting with a low optimum value followed by a sudden increase of its value which is beneficial to retain the part shape.

B. CHIRITA

2. Experimental set-up
The present paper is an experimental research in the influence of the blankholder
force upon spring-back parameters. Two methods were investigated: one that uses
a constant blankholder force and the other that uses variable blankholder forces. The
experiments were conducted using the set-up shown in Figure 1.
The material tested is an aluminium alloy.

Fig. 1. Experimental set-up

The strips used are 22030 mm and 1 mm thick. The strips were cut out of the
sheets in the rolling direction and then milled in order to obtain a constant edge thickness.
Geometric parameters of tools are presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Geometric parameters of tools
Punch size (mm)
Punch radius (mm)
Die opening (mm)
Die radius (mm)
Punch travel (mm)
Blankholder force (kN)

78.5120
8
80
12
50
545

The influence of blankholder force on spring-back of sheet metal

Blankholder force variation was obtained using a hydraulic device manually driven
and a manometer indicating the pressure.

3. Results of investigations concerning the influence of constant

blankholder force on spring-back intensity
The spring-back parameters (Figure 2) whose variation was observed during experimental research are as follows:
1 the angle between the bottom of the part and the sidewall;
2 the angle between the flange and the sidewall;
the curvature radius of the sidewall.
The final shapes of aluminium alloy parts after spring-back are illustrated in Figure 3 for different values of blankholder force. The left half-profiles of the parts are
presented in Figure 4.
The blankholder force was limited to 45 kN because higher values led to broken
parts.

Fig. 2. Spring-back parameters

B. CHIRITA

Fig. 3. The shape of aluminium alloy parts after spring-back

Fig. 4. Influence of blankholder force on spring-back

The influence of blankholder force on spring-back of sheet metal

The measured values of spring-back parameters are presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Spring-back parameters for aluminium alloy parts
Blankholder force
1
2

(kN)
5
15.57
10.16
113.89
10
12.33
9.27
119.2
15
11
8.48
123.5
20
10.26
7.71
126.6
25
9.9
7.17
129.7
30
9.6
7.06
132.8
35
9.32
6.93
141.5
40
9.1
6.93
172.3
45
8.97
6.82
237.48

Due to superimposing the graphs of parameters variation we obtain a nomogram

presented in Figure 5. From its analysis the following conclusions can be drawn:
The spring-back angles 1 and 2 vary more substantially for smaller values of
blankholder force. An increase of blankholder force from 5 kN to 45 kN leads to
a decrease of spring-back angles of approximately 42% for 1 and 32% for 2.
The sidewall-curvature radius varies more substantially for higher values of
blankholder force. An increase of blankholder force from 5 kN to 45 kN leads to an
increase of approximately 52% of sidewall curvature radius.

Fig. 5. Optimum blankholder force domain

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B. CHIRITA

Based on the results obtained and the facts presented above an optimum domain
was chosen for the value of blankholder force. This domain can be considered as
comprised between 36 and 43 kN and it is highlighted by grey colour in Figure 5. For
this domain the parts result close to the desired shape without the risk of tearing.

4. Results of the investigations concerning the effect of variable blankholder force on spring-back intensity
Based on the method described by Liu et al. [2] the following steps and domains of
variable blankholder forces were investigated:
the application of a blankholder force in two steps: a low value equal to 0.25 kN
until a drawing depth of 6 mm is reached followed by a higher value equal to 40 kN
until the end of forming process;
the application of blankholder force in three steps: the first value equal to 0.25 kN
until the drawing depth of 6 mm is reached, the second value equal to 20 kN until the
drawing depth of 30 mm is reached and the third blankholder force value of 40 kN
until the end of forming process;
the application of blankholder force in three steps: the first value equal to 0.25 kN
until the drawing depth of 6 mm is reached, the second value equal to 40 kN until the
drawing depth of 44 mm is reached and the third value of 0.25 kN for the final step of
the forming process.

Fig. 6. Variable blankholder force

The influence of blankholder force on spring-back of sheet metal

11

The analysis of the parts measured (Figure 6) leads to the following results and
conclusions:
In the first case, a small decrease of spring-back intensity is obtained. The use of
two-step variable blankholder force leads to a higher value of sidewall curvature and
smaller values of spring-back angles compared with the results of constant blankholder force.
In the second and the third cases, the results clearly show that a constant blankholder force leads to better results.

5. Conclusions
The analysis of the experimental results highlighted the following aspects of the influence of blankholder force on spring-back:
The increase of blankholder force results in a lower spring-back intensity. This
fact is explained by stress distribution, which is more uniform through the thickness.
The results obtained are in agreement with the data from literature [1], [2], [4].
The variation of spring-back parameters is as follows: the angle at the bottom of
the part, 1, has decreased by 42% with the increase of the blankholder force from
5 kN to 45 kN, the angle between flange and sidewall, 2, has decreased by 32%, and
the sidewall curvature, , has increased by 52% for increased blankholder force. Based
on this variation an optimum domain of blankholder force that can be applied with
beneficial effects on part shape may be determined.
The spring-back intensity may be reduced due to application of a variable force of
a blankholder. The optimum solution in this case consists in applying a blankholder
force in two steps, the first starting with a small value for a small drawing depth followed by an increase of force to a value that determines the increase of all spring-back
parameters. The main problem that must be solved using this method is an exact determination of the values of blankholder force and the moment of variation.
References
[1] Samuel M.: Experimental and numerical prediction of springback and side wall in
U-bending of anisotropic sheet metals, J. of Mat. Proc. Tech., 2000, pp. 382393.
[2] Liu G., Lin Z., Xu W., Bao Y.: Variable blankholder force in U-shaped part forming for
eliminating springback error, J. of Mat. Proc. Tech., 2002, Vol. 120.
[3] Tang C.S.: Analysis of springback in sheet forming operation, Advanced Technology of
Plasticity, 2001, Vol. I.
[4] Han S.S., Park K.C.: An investigation of the factors influencing springback by empirical
and simulative techniques, Numisheet99, Besancon, France, 1317 September, 1999.

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B. CHIRITA

Badania wpywu siy dociskacza na powrotne odksztacenia spryste blach

Powrotne odksztacenia spryste s zasadnicz wad wyrobw toczonych w ksztacie litery U. Po usuniciu ksztatujcych narzdzi zmieniaj si istotnie kty pomidzy dnem, cianami bocznymi i konierzem wyrobu, a take pojawia si krzywizna cian bocznych. Sia dociskacza jest bardzo wanym czynnikiem decydujcym o wartoci sprystych odksztace powrotnych. W pracy przedstawiono badania wpywu siy dociskacza na zjawisko powrotnego
sprynowania wyrobw w ksztacie litery U. Do bada uyto blachy ze stopu aluminium
o gruboci 1 mm. Si dociskacza zmieniano w zakresie od 0,25 do 2,06 kN, zgbienie stempla byo stae i wynosio 50 mm. Stwierdzono, e zwikszenie siy dociskacza powoduje
zmniejszenie ktw powrotnych odksztace sprystych pomidzy dnem a cianami bocznymi
oraz cianami bocznymi a konierzem, natomiast zwiksza si krzywizna cian bocznych. Jest
to wynikiem bardziej rwnomiernego rozkadu napre wzdu gruboci blachy.