Crystal Plasticity Finite-Element Simulations of Cup Drawing of a ZX10 Magnesium Alloy Sheet

Magnesium (Mg) alloy sheets are expected to contribute to the lightweighting of structural components, owing to their inherent benefits of low density and high specific strength. However, the limited room-temperature press formability exhibited in Mg alloy sheets remains a barrier to their expanded use. A significant factor contributing to the limited formability is the strong basal texture. To improve the room-temperature press formability, ZX series Mg alloy sheets that weakened the basal texture have recently been developed. In our previous study [Hama et al., Mater. Res. Proc., 28(2003), 711-716], cup drawability of a Mg-1.5mass%Zn-0.1mass%Ca (ZX10Mg) alloy sheet was investigated at room temperature. The obtained cup exhibited that the cup height and thickness strains differed significantly in the circumferential direction of the cup. However, a more detailed discussion on the mechanisms of this anisotropic deformation was hampered by a reliance solely on experimental observations. Therefore, in this study, crystal plasticity finite-element simulations of cup drawing of the ZX10Mg alloy sheet were performed. The simulation results qualitatively reproduced macroscopic and microscopic deformation behaviors during cup drawing. Numerical studies showed that the anisotropic deformation during drawing was primarily induced by the texture of the material, suggesting that anisotropic deformation is inevitable unless the anisotropic c -axes distribution remains in the initial texture.