Numerical simulation and experimental validation of a ductile damage model for DIN 1623 St14 steel

St14 steel (DIN 1623) is widely used in sheet metal forming industries because of its remarkable formability and also its low price. In this paper, damage behaviour of St14 steel is studied in order to be used in complex forming conditions with the goal of reducing the number of costly trials. Damage parameters of St14 steel have been determined by using standard tensile and Vickers micro-hardness tests. A fully coupled elastic-plastic-damage model has been developed and implemented into an explicit code. With this model, damage propagation and crack initiation, and ductile fracture behaviour of drilled and notched specimens are predicted. The model can quickly predict both deformation and damage behaviour of the part because of using plane stress algorithm, which is valid for thin sheet metals. Experiments are also carried out to validate the results. It is concluded that finite element analysis (FEA) in conjunction with continuum damage mechanics (CDM) can be used as a reliable tool to predict ductile damage and fracture of St14 steel.