Analysis of Phase Transformation and Temperature History during Hot Stamping Using the Finite Element Method

Hot stamping, which is the hot pressing of special steel sheet using a cold die, can combine ease of shaping with high strength mechanical properties due to the hardening effect of rapid quenching. In this paper, a thermo-mechanical analysis of hot stamping using the finite element method in conjunction with phase transformations was performed in order to investigate the plastic deformation behavior, temperature history, and mechanical properties of the stamped car part. We also conducted a fully coupled thermo-mechanical analysis during the stamping and rapid quenching process to obtain the mechanical properties with the consideration of the effects of plastic deformation and phase transformation on the temperature histories at each point in the part. The finite element analysis could provide key information concerning the temperature histories and the sheet mechanical properties when the phase transformation is properly considered. Such an analysis can also be used to determine the effect of cyclic cooling on the tooling