Formability evaluation of tailor weld blanks of austenitic stainless steel (AISI 304)

• Published in: Advances in materials and processing technologies (Abingdon, England) Vol. 10; no. 3; pp. 2008 - 2020
• Main Authors: Krishnamraju, M., Reddy, P. Venkateshwar, Mahajan, Peeyush, Mishra, Sushil Kumar, Narasimhan, K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 02.07.2024
• Subjects: AISI304; FLD; formability; microstructure; strain hardening exponent; TWB
• ISSN: 2374-068X; 2374-0698
• DOI: 10.1080/2374068X.2023.2205675

Tailor weld blank (TWB) is preferred in different components of automobiles to reduce weight of the vehicle. However, TWBs have lower formability than sheets because of increased hardness and strength of weld region. Hence, in this work, detailed formability analysis of TWB of AISI304 is done and compared with as-received sheets along with microstructural correlation. Forming limit diagram for as-received sheet, TWBs are determined. Strain hardening exponent value of as-received sheet is 0.381, unweld region and weld region of TWB is observed to be 0.362 and 0.301, respectively. Numerical simulations were also done for predicting the FLC of TWB of AISI304 with the help of PAM STAMP 2 G solver. TWB showed lower formability than as-received sheets. Similarly, predicted FLD for TWB is almost coinciding with the experimental value. Similarly, optical micro-structure studies were also analysed for as-received sheet, unweld region and weld region of TWB, which showed fully austenitic structure with random grain orientations. At the same time, it was found that strain path chosen for FLD determination has a strong influence on microstructure evolution.