• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.86-91
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• 2005

The stack, the core unit of the MCFC system, is composed of the three main parts which are the electrodes, the matrix keeping the electrolyte and the separator. Among these, the separator made of low carbon steel is manufactured by some sheet metal forming processes. The flatness of flange of the mask plate of the separator is crucial not only to enhance the stack performance but also to reduce the production cost. This study has focused on the enhancement of flatness of the mask plate flange by controlling some process parameters like the punch and die comer radii, the blank holding force, the friction coefficient and so on. The springback phenomenon occurring in the flange drawing process has been studied first using the finite element method (FEM) in order to understand what causes the springback. The distribution pattern of local longitudinal stress in the flanged part has been revealed very important in predicting the final shape of the flange. This fact has been backed up by the experimental results carried out with the developed test dies.