Abstract:A numerical method for coupled deformation between sheet metal and flexible-die was proposed. Based on the updated Lagrangian (UL) formulation, the elastoplastic deformation of sheet metal was analyzed with finite element method (FEM) and the bulk deformation of flexible-die was analyzed with element-free Galerkin method (EFGM). The frictional contact between sheet metal and flexible-die was treated by the penalty function method. The sheet elastic flexible-die bulging process was analyzed with the FEM-EFGM program for coupled deformation between sheet metal and bulk flexible-die, called CDSB-FEM-EFGM for short. Compared with finite element code DEFORM-2D and experiment results, the CDSB-FEM-EFGM program is feasible. This method provides a suitable numerical method to analyze sheet flexible-die forming.

Key words: sheet flexible-die forming; finite element method; element-free Galerkin method; coupling; aluminum alloy