Finite-element simulation of the shear process using the element-kill method

Abstract The major objective of the present paper is to establish an analytical technique in order to closely understand and analyze the actual shearing process. First of all, isothermal and non-isothermal finite element (FE)-simulation of the shearing process are carried out using the finite-element software DEFORM. Based on preliminary simulation using DEFORM, the FE program to analyze the two-dimensional shearing process is developed. The ductile-fracture criterion and the element-kill method are used also to estimate if and where a fracture will occur and to investigate the features of the sheared surface in the shearing process. It can be seen that the developed program combined with the ductile fracture criterion and the element-kill method has enabled the achievement of FE-simulation from the initial stage to the final stage of the shearing process. The effects of the punch–die clearance on the shearing process are investigated also. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed technique, the simulation results are compared with known experimental data. The results of the present work are in close agreement with published experimental results.