HIGH ENERGY RATE FORMING

PROCESSES
HIGH ENERGY RATE FORMING PROCESS

• High energy rate forming processes are based on systems that

generate high energy at very short times (high energy rate)
such as explosive forming, electromagnetic forming,
electrohydraulic forming and peen forming.
EXPLOSIVE FORMING
 EXPLOSIVE FORMING

• Explosive forming uses the instantaneous pressure resulting

from the detonation of explosive charge to deform a metal
blank or tube plastically.

• The punch used in the conventional forming is replaced by

explosives in explosive forming.
 PRINCIPLE

• When the explosive, which is kept in underwater is detonated,

the energy shockwaves produced will be transmitted to all
directions.
• This energy will cause the plate to be deformed and will take
the shape of the die.
• The explosives used for detonation are Trinitrotoluene(TNT),
Cyclonite(RDX), Pentrite(PETN), etc…
 CLASSIFICATION OF EXPLOSIVE FORMING

• According to relative position between the workpiece and explosive

1. Contact operations

2. Stand – off operations

• According to the way the explosion is contained

1. Open or unconfined operations

2. Closed or confined operations

CONTACT OPERATION AND STAND–OFF OPERATIONS
UNCONFINED AND CONFINED OPERATIONS
 ROLE OF WATER IN EXPLOSIVE FORMING

• Acts as a energy transfer medium.

• Ensures uniform transmission of energy.
• Muffles the sound of explosion.
• Cushioning/ smooth application of energy on the work with or
without direct contact.
• About 80% size of charge is saved when water is used for
explosion rather than air.
 PROCESS VARIABLES

• Type and amount of charge used (1g 4-5kJ of energy)

• Stand - off distance (S=D for D≤ 0.7m and S=0.5D for D≥ 0.7 m)
• Hydrostatic head (H=2S)

• Medium used to transmit energy (water is commonly used)

• Work material
 ADVANTAGES

• Large sheets and tubes which can’t be produced by other

processes, can be formed by this process.
• Tough materials as well as ductile materials can be formed by
explosive forming.
• Only half dies are required and one die can used to form
products of different thickness.
• Capital investments in dies and tanks are cheaper.
 LIMITATIONS
• The process should be carried out at safe and remote places
and safety precautions must be taken in order to avoid
accidents.
• The process is recommended only for limited production rate.
• The process does not ensure high impact strength and high
stress corrosion resistance of products.
 APPLICATIONS
• Defense Advanced research project agencies (DARPA) in USA,
uses explosive forming for producing aerospace parts that
produced SR-71 aircrafts.
• Explosive forming has its major applications in the aerospace
industry which includes outer body of Saturn rocket.
• Rear axle housings had been made by a car manufacturer in
Germany in 1981 by explosive forming.
ELECTROMAGNETIC FORMING
 INTRODUCTION

• Electromagnetic forming (EMF) or magnetic

pulse forming is a high velocity forming that
uses electromagnetic forces to shape metal
workpieces.
• The process starts when capacitor bank is
discharged through the coil.
• The current flowing through the coil generates
a time varying magnetic field around it.
• It is used to form the shape.
 WORKING PRINCIPLE
• According to Faraday’s law of induction, the time varying
magnetic field induces electric current in any nearby conductive
material.
• According to Lenz’s law, the induced currents flow in the
opposite direction to the primary currents in the coil.
• By Lorentz force law, electromagnetic field of an induced
current always opposes the electromagnetic field of the inducing
current
• A large capacitor bank is discharged to produce a current
through a coiled conductor.
• If the coil is placed inside the conductive cylinder, around the
conductive cylinder or adjacent to a flat sheet of metal, then
the discharge induces a secondary current in the workpiece.
• The secondary current causes the workpiece to be repelled
form the coil conforming to a die.
 WORKING
• The setup consists of a pulsed power generator, die,
conductive workpiece.
• The process is started by charging and subsequently
discharging the capacitor of the pulsed power generator.
• A sinusoidal current flows through the coil which
induces a magnetic field.
• If there is an electrically conductive workpiece in direct
proximity to inductor, a secondary current is induced.
• The energy density stored in the magnetic field between
workpiece and coil acts magnetic pressure which can reach
several hundreds of megapascal and causes the deformation of
the material.
• The direction of movement is always targeted away from the
coil.
 PROCESS PARAMETERS

1. Workpiece thickness – more thickness, more

time to form.
2. Electrical conductivity – higher electrical
conductivity of the material leads to larger
pressure difference for forming.

3. Frequency – higher frequency of current can

balance the low conductivity of the material.
4. Gap between workpiece and coil – smaller
gap leads to higher magnetic field and pressure.
5. Number of turns in the winding coil
 ADVANTAGES
• Suitable for small tubes.

• Operations like collapsing, bending and crimping can be

easily done.
• Electrical energy applied can be precisely controlled and
hence process is well controlled.
• Wide range of applications.

• The process is safer compared to explosive forming.

 DISADVANTAGES

• Applicable only for electrically conducting

materials.
• Not suitable for large workpieces
• Rigid clamping of primary coil is critical

• Shorter life of the coil due to large forces acting

on it.
 APPLICATIONS
• Crimping of coils, tubes, wires.

• Bending of tubes into hollow shapes.

• Bulging of thin tubes

• Electromagnetic forming can be used to

perform shearing, piercing and riveting.
PEEN FORMING
ELECTRO HYDRAULIC
FORMING
 OVERVIEW
• Introduction
• Process Principle
• Constructional details
• Advantages and Disadvantages
• Application
 INTRODUCTION
• In these forming processes large amount of
energy is applied for a very short interval of
time.
• These processes are useful to deform materials
like Titanium and Tungsten alloys, under high
strain rates
• The parts are formed at a rapid rate, and
thus these processes are also called High
Velocity Forming (HVF) Processes.
• There are several advantages of using these
forming processes, like die costs are low,
easy maintenance of tolerances, possibility of
forming most metals, and material does not
show springback effect.
• The production cost of components by such
processes is low.
• The limitation of these processes is the
need for skilled personnel.
 PROCESS PRINCIPLE
• Electro-hydraulic forming tools and processes,
produce a shockwave by creating a high voltage
discharge in a liquid that is in contact with the sheet
metal blank to be formed.
• The shockwave in the liquid is propagated towards
the blank and causes the blank to be deformed into
an open die that has a forming surface.
• The shockwave forces the blank into engagement
with the forming surface to form the metal blank into
the desired shape.
CONSTRUCTION DETAIL AND WORKING

• A typical configuration of EHF includes a

discharge chamber, electrodes, forming die,
and a pulse generator which consists of a
high-voltage low-inductive bank of capacitors
C, a high-voltage high- current discharge
switch D, and a charging amplifying rectifying
circuit is illustrated in Fig 1.
• The capacitor bank is capable of producing
discharges of 5 -25 kV and can store energies up
to 100 kJ.
• A sheet metal blank is placed on top of the
discharge chamber.
• A one-sided die is positioned above the blank.
• After the air is evacuated from both sides of the
blank, the chamber is filled with water, fully
immersing the electrodes.
• After the voltage is applied to the electrodes, an
electrical breakdown occurs between the exposed
tips of the electrodes which leads to the formation of
a stable plasma channel.
• The channel expands quickly resulting in shock
waves o f p r essure which then continuously
transform into flow of liquid. The pressure pulse
propagates through the water and applies pressure
to the surface of the blank forming it into the die
cavity.
• The deformation can be controlled by applying
external restraints in the form of die or by
varying the amount of energy released, Fig 2.
 PROCESS PARAMETERS
• Stand off distance : It must be optimum.
• Capacitor used : The energy of the pressure pulse depends on the
size of capacitor.
• Transfer medium : Usually water is used.
• Vacuum : The die cavity must be evacuated to prevent adiabatic
heating of the work due to a sudden compression of air.
• Materials formed : Materials having low ductility or having critical
impact velocity less than 30 m/s are generally not considered to
be good candidate for EHF. All materials that can be formed by
conventional forming processes can be formed by EHF also.
These materials are aluminum alloys, nickel alloys, stainless
steels, titanium, and Inconel 718.
 ADVANTAGES
• EHF can form hollow shapes with such ease and
at less cost compared to other forming
techniques.
• A single step process (rather than progressive
stamping)
• Extremely fast
• Enables extremely deep forming (much more than
is possible with conventional stamping)
• Fine details and sharp lines can be easily formed
• Forming of make and female shapes (negative
and positive)
 DISAVANTAGES
• Suitable only for smaller works.
• Need for vacuum makes the equipment more complicated.
• Proper SOD is necessary for effective process.
• Each discharge of the electrodes to create the high voltage discharge
in the fluid results in the formation of impurities in the water that
results in vaporization of the electrodes and may create surface
defects in the surface of the part formed in the process.
• The fluid in the vessel generally must be drained and replaced for
each tool cycle. The volume of fluid in the vessel for a larger part
tends to be fairly substantial and a considerable portion of the cycle
time of the tool is dedicated to draining and refilling the vessel.
 APPLICATIONS
• It include smaller radar dish, cone and
other shapes in thinner and small works
• Reduction of capital investment for low
volume aerospace applications
• In Automobile sector such as inside components of
a passenger car door
• Miniature and fancy equipments having
complicated profile for electronic industry,
etc.