Numerical analysis of high strain rate failure of electro-magnetically loaded steel sheets

Electro-magnetic forces provide a potentially power full means in designing dynamic experiments with active control of the loading conditions. This article deals with the development of computational models to simulate the thermo-mechanical response of electro-magnetically loaded metallic structures. The model assumes linear electromagnetic constitutive equations and time-independent electric induction to estimate the Joule heating and the Lorentz forces. The latter are then taken into account when evaluating stress equilibrium. A thermo-visco-plastic model with Johnson-Cook type of temperature and strain rate dependence and combined Swift-Voce hardening is used to evaluate the material’s thermo-mechanical response. As a first application, the model is used to analyse the effect of electro-magnetic loading on the ductility of advanced high strength steels.