Inverse modelling approach in 3-point bending for elasto- plastic material parameter identification of thin spring steel

Under process conditions such as bending of flat wire made from high strength spring steel, the occurring strains are many times higher than the maximum strains determined from uniaxial tensile tests. To determine the elasto-plastic material behaviour of high strength spring steel (X10CrNi18-8), an inverse modelling approach using a simple testing method is presented. A 3-point bending test with the resulting force-displacement measurements is used for the inverse analysis. The inverse approach is used for determining the Young's modulus and hardening parameters of the Ludwik-Hollomon's law for bending of high strength spring steel. FE simulations with the optimised material data meet the experimentally measured punch forces during bending. The optimised material data considerably enhances the springback prediction.