“Internal Variables” Effects in Punch Friction Characterization

Abstract

Despite the complexity and importance of friction, most current simulations of metal-forming processes use relatively simple friction models such as the Amontons-Coulomb constant friction coefficient. It has been pointed out that simple models are not capable of capturing the influence of process variables such as geometry, speed, and surface topography on friction. A realistic friction model should include the internal variables such as lubricant film thickness, tooling roughness, and workpiece roughness. In the present research, the punch friction tests which use a tensile strip experiment to simulate the stretching of sheet over a punch corner radius in a typical draw die are used to measure the effects of internal variables on friction in various stretching conditions. The measured friction coefficients increase with lower stretching speed and decrease if lubricant is applied at the interface between workpiece and cylindrical pin. Theoretical friction modeling, which includes the different lubrication regimes range from thick film, thin film, mixed regime and boundary regime, are presented. Numerical methods have been used to solve the governing differential equations with the known initial boundary conditions obtained from the experiments. The theoretical prediction shows the same trend as the experimental measurements.