This chapter discusses the factors that influence the load-deformation relationship at the heart of most metal forming operations. It describes the changes that occur in tensile test samples and the various ways test data can be plotted and analyzed, particularly for design purposes. It discusses the effect of normal and planar anisotropy, the development and use of flow stress curves, and how formability is usually measured and expressed. It explains how formability measurements serve as a guide for process and tool design engineers as well as others. It also discusses the development and use of forming limit curves and the extensive amount of information they provide.

This chapter describes incremental sheet forming processes, including single-point, two-point, and kinematic (two tool) techniques. It provides information on the tooling and equipment used, work flow and forming parameters, process mechanics and forming limits. It also discusses multistage forming strategies, process modeling and simulation, and advanced hybrid forming processes.

This chapter is a brief account of the composition, microstructures, heat treatment, deformation mechanisms, mechanical properties, formability, and special attributes of austenitic stainless steels.

This chapter discusses the forming characteristics of dual-phase (DP) and transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steels. It begins with a review of the mechanical behavior of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) and how they respond to stress-strain conditions associated with deformation processes such as stretching, bending, flanging, deep drawing, and blanking. It then describes the complex tribology of AHSS forming operations, the role of lubrication, the effect of tool steels and coatings, and the force and energy requirements of various forming presses. It also discusses the cause of springback and explains how to predict and compensating for its effects.

This chapter provides an overview of the composition, microstructures, processing, deformation mechanism, mechanical properties, formability, and special attributes of complex-phase steels.

This chapter summarizes the performance attributes of advanced high-strength steels, namely stiffness, strength, strain hardening, fatigue, crashworthiness, formability, toughness, and bake hardening.

This chapter lays the groundwork for understanding electrode kinetics associated with corrosion. It presents a simple but useful theory relating kinetics to the polarization behavior of half-cell reactions. The theory is based on the observation that electrode potentials vary as a function of current density or charge transfer in a given area. The chapter explains how to measure and plot electrode potentials and currents and how to interpret the resulting polarization curves. It also discusses the effects of concentration gradients, explaining how they cause diffusion and, in some cases, produce changes in electrode potential.

Sheet metal forming operations consist of a large family of processes, ranging from simple bending to stamping and deep drawing of complex shapes. Because sheet forming operations are so diverse in type, extent, and rate, no single test provides an accurate indication of the formability of a material in all situations. However, as discussed in this chapter, the uniaxial tensile test is one of the most widely used tests for determining sheet metal formability. This chapter describes the effect of material properties and temperature on sheet metal formability. Information on the types of formability tests is also provided. The chapter discusses the processes involved in uniaxial and plane-strain tensile testing. Examples include the uniaxial tensile test and the plane-strain tensile test which are subsequently described.

This chapter introduces the concepts of mechanical properties and the various underlying metallurgical mechanisms that can be used to alter the strength of materials. The mechanical properties discussed include elasticity, plasticity, creep deformation, fatigue, toughness, and hardness. The strengthening mechanisms covered are solid-solution strengthening, cold working, and dispersion strengthening. The effect of grain size on the yield strength of a material is also discussed.

This chapter discusses the complex polarization characteristics of active-passive metals and addresses related problems in interpreting their corrosion behavior. It begins by presenting several experimentally derived polarization curves for iron, comparing and contrasting them with the iron-water Pourbaix diagram. It then explains how anodic polarization is extremely sensitive to the environment and, as a result, a reasonably complete curve for a given metal-environment system usually can only be inferred. It goes on to describe how such curves are constructed, demonstrating the procedures for a wide range of alloys and environments. The examples also show how factors such as alloy concentration, crystal lattice orientation, temperature, and dissolved oxygen affect corrosion behavior.

This chapter is a compilation of terms and definitions related to tensile testing.