Friction Behavior in Sheet Metal Forming Processes
Summary
Friction behaviour in sheet metal forming encompasses the interaction between the deforming sheet and tool surfaces, critically influencing material flow, tool wear, energy consumption and final component quality. In processes such as deep drawing, stamping and bending, the coefficient of friction determines strain distribution, load requirements and defect formation. Key factors include surface topography of both sheet and tool, contact pressure, sliding velocity, temperature and lubrication regime. Under boundary and mixed lubrication, asperity contact and adhesive forces dominate, often causing galling and altered strain paths; by contrast, hydrodynamic lubrication can reduce friction by supporting the load on a continuous fluid film. Precise measurement and modelling of friction are essential for accurate process simulations, tool design and selection of sustainable lubricants. Advances in real-time monitoring, surface engineering and tribometric methods have deepened understanding of local frictional phenomena, enabling optimisation of forming parameters to minimise wrinkling, tearing and spring-back. The global importance of this research spans the automotive, aerospace and packaging sectors, where high-strength alloys and lightweight materials demand stringent tribological control to achieve cost-effective, high-quality production.
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Research from all publishers
Recent investigations into green stamping lubricants have emphasised the influence of oil chemistry and viscosity on film formation under extreme thin-film contacts. High-viscosity paraffinic and naphthenic oils sustain robust films, reducing friction and wear, whereas low-viscosity oils may be rapidly displaced, leading to lubrication starvation. Studies of dry film lubricants in aluminium sheet forming reveal that thermal degradation of additives above 100 °C alters surface chemistry and increases friction, guiding the development of more thermally stable coatings for hot forming. Foundational work using strip drawing tribometers has correlated sliding velocity and contact pressure with friction coefficients for steel and aluminium alloys, demonstrating the critical role of tool surface treatments, material transfer and surface topography in friction evolution. These insights underpin advances in surface engineering and enhance the calibration of numerical models for industrial sheet forming processes.
Friction Behavior in Sheet Metal Forming Processes publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in friction behavior in sheet metal forming processes across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Coefficient of friction: ratio of the frictional force resisting sliding to the normal load between contacting surfaces.
Boundary lubrication: regime where asperity contacts and adsorbed lubricant layers carry the load, leading to higher friction and wear.
Dry film lubricant: solid coating applied to sheet surfaces to reduce direct metal-to-metal contact under forming conditions.
Strip drawing test: experimental method in which a sheet strip is drawn between tool surfaces to measure frictional resistance under controlled conditions.
References
- Base lubricants for green stamping: The effects of their structure and viscosity on tribological performance. Friction (2023).
- Effects of temperature on friction and degradation of dry film lubricants during sliding against aluminum alloy sheets. Tribology International (2023).
- Determination of the Friction Coefficient in the Flat Strip Drawing Test. Engineering (2021).
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