Abstract
Most auto-body members fabricated by the sheet metal forming process. During this process the thickness and material properties of the sheet metal are changed with the residual stress and plastic strain. This paper deals with the material properties of the sheet metal at the high strain rate considering the pre-strain effect. Specimens are selected from sheet metals for outer panels and inner members, such as SPCEN, SPRC45E, SPRC35R and EZNCD. The specimens are prepared with the pre-strain of 2, 5 and 10 % by tensile elongation in Instron 5583, which could be equivalent to the plastic strain in sheet metal forming. High speed tensile tests are then carried out with the pre-stained specimens at the strain rate of 1 to 100/sec. The experimental result informs that the material properties are noticeably influenced by the pre-strain when the yield stress of the specimens is moderate as SPCEN, SPRC35R and EZNCD. The result also demonstrates that the ultimate tensile strength as well as the yield stress is increased as the amount of the pre-strain is increased.