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Procedia Engineering 183 (2017) 83 – 88

17th International Conference on Sheet Metal, SHEMET17

Metallographic analysis of Nakajima tests for the evaluation of the

failure developments
Affronti, Emanuela a *; Merklein, Marion a
a
Institute of Manufacturing Technology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg Egerlandstr. 13, Erlangen 91058, Germany

Abstract

The material characterisation in sheet metal forming is significantly improved with the introduction of optical measurement
systems. The optical measurement is based on the digital image correlation (DIC) technique, which provides accurate strain
measurement of the local strain distribution on specimens. The changes of the stochastic distribution due to the forming are
therefore used in order to measure displacements and deformations. An acknowledged application of the DIC technique is the
evaluation of the forming limit curve (FLC) for sheet metals. Typically, the FLC is evaluated by conducting Nakajima tests. The
Nakajima test is a stretch forming-based test and allows the analysis of stretching at different stress conditions. A previous
investigation based on pattern recognition on Nakajima tests has shown that for a conventional deep drawing steel DC04 the
pattern evolution on the strain distribution during the test can be examined in order to predict the material failure. However, even
if the investigation shows promising results, the correspondence between pattern on the surface and changes in the material
structure is missing. The aim of the present work is an analysis of the surface structure of Nakajima tests at different stress states
and drawing depths. The correlation between surface modifications and failure behaviour is conducted on the deep drawing steel
DC04. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) (Merlin Zeiss GmbH) is employed in order to investigate the evolution of the
surface at different strain conditions. The results of the surface and the metallographic investigation are finally compared with the
forming limit prediction of the FLC and the failure behaviour at different stress conditions is discussed.

©
© 2017
2017TheTheAuthors. Published
Authors. by Elsevier
Published Ltd. This
by Elsevier Ltd. is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of SHEMET17.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of SHEMET17

Keywords: metal forming, forming limit, metallography.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +49-9131-85-28304; fax: +49-9131-85-27141.

E-mail address: emanuela.affronti@fau.de

1877-7058 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of SHEMET17
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2017.04.015
84 Affronti Emanuela and Merklein Marion / Procedia Engineering 183 (2017) 83 – 88

Nomenclature

FLC forming limit curve

SEM scanning electron microscope
DIC digital image correlation
t0 nominal thickness of the metal sheet
n number of test repetition

1. Introduction

Since the concept of sheet metal forming limit was introduced by Keeler in 1963 [1], the forming limit curve
(FLC) expressed in terms of major and minor strain, represents the most widely used tool for determining the
forming limits in modelling and designing of processes. The determination of the FLC is standardised by the ISO
12004-2 [2], which prescribes the test setups as well as the evaluation methods. The FLC is typically evaluated with
the Nakajima test [3]. The evaluation of the strain distribution on the specimen during the test is nowadays
performed with the help of the digital image correlation technique (DIC) [4]. The standardised evaluation method is
based on the evaluation of the strains distribution near the crack initiation. Hence, the accurate strain measurement
provided by the optical measurement systems during the whole test duration is not fully used. In addition, the crack
initiation is considered as consequence of the localised necking, that is the effective responsible of the failure of the
sheet metal. Thus, in the last 10 years various time dependent methods have been proposed in order to improve the
forming limit evaluation, for example the line fit method proposed by Volk et al. [5], and the correlation coefficient
method proposed by Kuppert et al.[6]. Both methods are focused on the strain rate path and its changes due to
necking. The phenomenon of necking can be distinguished in diffuse and localised necking. The diffuse necking is
considered as negative strain in width and thickness directions of the sheet [7] and it is characterised by a gradually
development, whereas the localised necking is reached in the thickness direction. The localised necking brings
instabilities on the material due to the high strain levels reached and develops rapidly in a failure condition. Thereby,
the limit in forming operations is considered by localised necking. Hill [8] and Lian and Zhou [9] have supposed
that the localised necking is based on zero strain along the necking band (plane strain condition), while Barlat [10]
has proposed a critical thickness strain limit for strains under biaxial loading. On those assumptions different
numerical models for the prediction of the forming limits are proposed. A first formulation for the prediction of
forming limit in positive strain conditions has been proposed by Marciniak and Kuncinzsky (M-K Model) [11]. A
successive development has suggested by Hutchinson and Neale (H-N Model) [12] with the extension of the method
to negative minor strain conditions. A comprehensive review of the models as well as their formulation is given by
Aretz [13]. In both of experimental and theoretical ways to evaluate and predict the forming limits the necking
development plays the most important role. Nevertheless, the theoretical models are based on assumptions that are
in accord to the results but not directly verified (for example the arbitrary imperfection factor of the M-K model).
Similarly, the experimental evaluation methods are depending on the strain increase estimated in a small area around
the crack initiation and do not consider the development of the material structure. Thereby, the onset of necking can
only be indirectly detected. A first approach for the evaluation of the failure in term of global phenomenon has
proposed by the authors in [14]. The authors employed the pattern recognition method in order to predict the crack
initiation. It results, that using the information and the pattern evolutions of the surface of Nakajima tests is possible
to predict and evaluate the failure for different strains conditions. The results of the analysis have shown a new way
to interpret the data collected with the optical measurement system. However, the correspondence between pattern
on the surface and changes in the material structure is still missed. Within this paper, an analysis of the surface
structure of Nakajima tests at different stress states and drawing depths is conducted. The correlation between
surface modifications and failure behaviour is analysed on the deep drawing steel DC04 with a thickness of 2 mm.
The aim of the analysis is to find a correlation between the surface evolution of the materials and the predicted
forming limit curve resulted from the standard evaluation, in order to perform an accurate definition of the onset of
necking. The gained information can then be used as class differentiation for the pattern recognition method and can
help for the evaluation of the FLC.
 Affronti Emanuela and Merklein Marion / Procedia Engineering 183 (2017) 83 – 88 85

2. Material and experimental procedure

2.1. Nakajima setup

A schematic drawing of the used Nakajima testing machine is depicted on Fig. 1a. The used punch has a diameter
of 100 mm and the pictures of the tests are collected using two cameras with a resolution of 1280x1024 pixels.
Between punch and blank a tribological system according to the ISO 12004-2 is used in order to minimise the
friction. The strain distributions are evaluated with the DIC technique using the optical measurement system Aramis
(GOM mbH). In order to limit the number of tests and to focus the investigation on the most representative strain
conditions, only three strain path conditions are investigated: the biaxial condition (full Nakajima test specimen), the
plane strain condition (geometry with a parallel width of 125 mm), and a negative minor strain condition (geometry
with a parallel width of 30 mm). The used geometries (depicted in Fig. 1b) are cutted with the CO2–Laser TruLaser
Cell 7020 (Trumpf GmbH+Co. KG).

a) cameras b) S245 S125 S30

die

blank blank 245 mm 125 mm 30 mm

holder
punch

Fig. 1. a) Schematic drawing of the Nakajima test setup. b) investigated geometries.

In order to investigate specimens formed with different drawing depths, several samples are tested and stopped at
assigned punch displacements. Firstly, a test is performed until fracture in order to determine the largest punch
displacement. Thereafter, the next test is stopped with 0.5 mm reduced depth than the previous test and at least up to
eight drawing depths are considered. For the biaxial condition, the surface development does not show any
important changes after 1.5 mm to the failure depth. This could be easily explained by the fact that the major and the
minor strains are both positive and in the same order. Due to the volume constancy, the thickness reduction (the
third principal direction is oriented parallel to the thickness) has to compensate the other two components and thus
the main forming takes place in thickness direction. For this reason only 4 steps are investigated for the biaxial
condition. The list of the performed steps is shown in Table 1. For the evaluation of the points for the FLC the
standard evaluation method ISO 12004-2 (so-called section method) is used.

Table 1. Overview of the investigated drawing depths for the geometries.

Drawing steps crack 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
S030 depth mm 32.8 32.3 31.8 31.3 30.8 30.3 29.8 29.3 28.8
S125 depth mm 45.0 44.5 44.0 43.5 43.0 42.5 42.0 41.5 41.0
S245 depth mm 52.8 52.3 51.8 51.3

2.2. Surface analysis

The surface analysis is conducted employing the scanning electron microscope (SEM) (Merlin Zeiss GmbH). The
measuring distance is 25 mm with a magnification of 31x and a current intensity of 1.2 nA. Due to the limited
camera area of the SEM (Gemini optics), the surface profile is analysed in an area of 8 mm x 5 mm in the centre of
the specimen. Nevertheless, the localised necking is considered to have a dimension in the order of the thickness.
Therefore, the necking as well as the near transition area is completely included in the evaluated zone.
86 Affronti Emanuela and Merklein Marion / Procedia Engineering 183 (2017) 83 – 88

3. Results

3.1. Failure behaviour

For the geometry S030, the crack initiates in the centre of the specimen and it corresponds to a local necking with
a typical “X” form. The local necking is preceded by a diffuse necking with a strong width reduction. For the
geometry S125 the crack develops perpendicular to the parallel width and it can be observed for several drawing
depths before fracture occurs. In the case of the biaxial condition (S245), a significant development of the surface is
hard to detect, due to the main forming in the thickness direction, as mentioned before. The strain distributions
evaluated with the Aramis software are analysed, in order to achieve more information about the surface condition
by necking. As shown in Fig. 2, the first described suggestions are confirmed by the major strain distribution. The
geometry S030 an evident strain localisation in the major strain shows at 31.8 mm drawing depth and the main
localisation happens in the centre of the “X” distribution. The achieved strain is thereby about 0.9 for the major
strain. The geometry S125 shows a major strain localisation of about 0.50 perpendicular to the parallel width at 44
mm drawing depth. For the geometry S245 in biaxial strain condition, it is important to note a light major strain
localisation near 0.75.

S030 S125 S245 DC04; t0 = 2.00 mm

10 mm
major strain
31.8 mm (2) 44.0 mm (2) 52.3 mm (2) 0.92 0.50 0

Fig. 2. Major strain distribution at necking for the investigated geometries

3.2. Necking analysis with the SEM

For the evaluation of the surface profile an area of 5 mm x 8 mm in the centre of the specimen is selected. With
the software MeX 6.1 provided by Alicona GmbH is possible to employ stereoscopic images to get a metrology
examination. As expected, the investigations on the geometry under biaxial condition do not show a clear effect on
the surface but a diffuse thickness reduction. Thereby, only the results of the surface analysis for the geometries
S030 and S125 will be discussed. In Fig. 3 the results for the geometry S030 are depicted.
DC04; t0 = 2.00 mm; S030 surface profile -0.2 mm 0.2
10 mm

31.3 mm (3) 31.3

31 3 mm (3) 30.8 mm (4) 28.8
28 8 mm (8)

Fig. 3. Geometry S030 surface evolution

The initial investigated specimen is the first step without failure and corresponds to a drawing depth of 31.3 mm.
A considerable thickness reduction in the middle is to observe. The evolution of this localisation is clearly to see for
several drawing depths and it evolves rapidly. The surface changes start at a drawing depth of about 2.5 mm before
fracture and reaches a peak of approximately 100 µm. It is interesting to note, that the localisation starts with a trend
toward the “X” form (see surface profile at 30.8 mm) that can also be observed on the surface pictures as macro
effect. The surface profiles of the geometry S125 are illustrated in Fig. 4. The first specimen without crack initiation
 Affronti Emanuela and Merklein Marion / Procedia Engineering 183 (2017) 83 – 88 87

corresponds to a drawing depth of 44 mm and shows a localisation of about 80 µm. The evolution of the localisation
in the thickness is observed for several steps before fracture. The trend is detectable also on the step 8 with a
drawing depth of 41 mm (3 mm before fracture).
DC04; t0 = 2.00 mm; S125 surface profile -0.2 mm 0.2
10 mm

44.0 mm (2) 44.0 mm (2) 43.5 mm (3) 41.0

41 0 mm (8)

Fig. 4. Geometry S125 surface evolution

The results achieved with the SEM analysis demonstrate that for the DC04 the necking can directly detected by
analysing the surface changes, whereas the evaluation methods of the FLC predict the onset of necking with an
indirect analysis of its effects on the strain distributions. In Fig. 5 the investigated steps for each geometry are
depicted together with the points of the FLC and the strain paths. The connection line for the points of the FLC is
used for a better viewing and has to not consider as an exhaustive forming limit curve.
strain path S030 strain path S125
strain path S245 surface change
necking forming limit of FLC
forming steps (SEM)
1.00 crack DC04; t0 = 2.00 mm
1
major strain Æ

- crack
2-4 crack
0.60
5-8 1-3
0.40 1-3
4-8
0.20
0.00
-0.50 -0.30 -0.10 0.10 - 0.50
minor strain Æ

Fig. 5. FLC with strain path and evaluated steps

For the specimen S030, the evolution of the localisation rapidly goes to an instable condition. From step 8 to step
5 the strain path stays linear and without sudden gradient. From step 4, the first necking initiation is visible. The
onset of necking indirectly evaluated by the FLC is in good agreement with the results and confirms the reliability of
the method for the conventional DC04 with a remarkable necking development. For the plane strain condition
(S125), the strain path progresses gradually and the onset of the localisation occurs between step 1 and 3, in good
agreement with the FLC. It should be noted, the strain path is still under plane strain condition as supposed to
Hill [8]. The comparison between the observation with the SEM analysis and the point of the FLC for the sample in
biaxial condition shows the difficulty of a clear interpretation of the surface profile. The first changes on the surface
profile are noticeable since the first step before crack. The strain path still evolves in biaxial condition according to
Barlat [9].

4. Conclusion and outlook

In this paper, an analysis of the surface structure of Nakajima tests at different stress states and drawing depths for
the deep drawing steel DC04 is presented. The points of the FLC are evaluated with the standard method
88 Affronti Emanuela and Merklein Marion / Procedia Engineering 183 (2017) 83 – 88

ISO 12004-2, the strain distribution is analysed using an optical measurement system and the surface analysis is
performed with the SEM for 3D measurement. It evinces a clear strain evolution in form of strain localisation. The
magnitude of the localisation depends on the strain condition of the specimen. For the strain condition at negative
minor strain, the results show a rapid evolution of the sheet metal to an instable condition. For the plane strain
condition, the strain path develops gradually and the onset of necking is well predicted from the FLC. The result for
the biaxial strain condition does not depict an evident change on the surface similar to a localisation due to the fact
that the main forming occurs in the thickness direction. The data of the investigation on the surface profile are in
good agreement with the prediction of the FLC and confirm the good reliability of the standard method for the
DC04, due to its good formability and gradually evolution of the necking. The advantage is a direct evaluation of the
necking phenomena instead of an indirect evaluation of the forming limits. The ISO 12004-2 method as well as the
time dependent methods can only interpret the effects of the necking by using the strain distributions. The present
study introduces the surface analysis as a possible way to directly collecting information of the failure behaviour of
sheet metal under deep drawing. This procedure can be considered as possible way for a consistent definition of
necking in terms of surface change. The purpose will be the employment of the necking definition as discrimination
of the classes “with necking” and “without necking” for the prediction of the forming limit by pattern recognition.
Further investigations are needed. In addition, the applicability of the method for other material classes that show a
sudden instability without a marked necking should be tested, like high strength steels and aluminium alloys.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the German Research Foundation (DFG) for supporting the research
presented in this paper, provided by a grant as part of the “Förderpreis im Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Programm”
2013. Moreover the authors would like to thank Michael Beneder for his contribution to the present research as part
of his bachelor thesis.

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