An analytical prediction of flange wrinkling in sheet metal forming

Wrinkling is one of the major defects in sheet metal forming. The ability to accurately predict the occurrence of wrinkling is critical to the design of tooling and processing parameters. An analytical approach for predicting the onset of flange wrinkling is presented. This method is based on the wrinkling criterion proposed by Cao and Boyce for predicting the buckling behavior of sheet metal under normal constraint. Using a combination of energy conservation and plastic bending theory, the analysis provides the critical buckling stress and wavelength as functions of normal pressure. The results are in excellent agreement with those obtained from Cao and Boyce's numerical approach, and also match well with the experimental results of a square cup forming. In addition, the effects of material properties on the wrinkling behavior are also discussed. The analytical method significantly reduces computational time and is suitable for direct engineering application.