The objective of this research proposal is to gain an insight into the relatively unexplored area of surface waviness (or wrinkling) which can occur during sheet metal forming, to obtain a fundamental understanding of the influence of material parameters on those process parameters that cause surface waviness, and to provide technical guidelines for avoiding such defects in forming high-strength materials. The research will include: (1) Experimental studies on rectangular and square punch stretching of peripherally clamped sheet metals, (2) Analysis of rectangular and square punch stretching, (3) Study of various constitutive equations and establishment of those best suited for predicting surface waviness/wrinkling in sheet metal, (4) Experimental determination of biaxial strength of selected materials, and (5) Establishment of process design guidelines for forming panels without surface waviness and testing those guidelines on an actual stamping process. Surface waviness is one of the main types of failures in the sheet metal forming process which is a manufacturing process employed in many industries. The proposed research should lead to a better understanding of this failure problem and result in an improvement in the sheet metal forming process. This research will be conducted jointly by two universities with collaboration from a national laboratory and an industrial company.
