Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation of Electromagnetic-Impacted Micro-forming Processes of Aluminum Alloy Thin Sheet

Electromagnetic forming is a kind of high-speed forming technology for improving the formability of aluminum alloy sheets; however, the inherent non-uniform electromagnetic forces always restrict its application into the micro-forming field. Electromagnetic-impacted micro-forming processes were adopted by using flexible mediums for force transmission. The processes of electromagnetic-impacted rubber micro-forming, electromagnetic-impacted micro-hydroforming, and electromagnetic-impacted pneumatic micro-forming were compared to inspect the influences of flexible mediums. The effects of discharge voltages on the electromagnetic-impacted micro-forming processes of an AA5052-O aluminum alloy thin sheet were investigated by the numerical simulation of electromagnetic and mechanical coupled fields. The numerical simulations were validated via comparisons with the experimental results; these showed that the forming accuracy and thickness uniformity of micro-channels were the greatest by the electromagnetic-impacted micro-hydroforming process.