Stress and strain analysis for multiple cold rolls progressive forming of channel section with outer edge

In a cold roll forming process, the sheet is progressively formed into a three-dimensional surface. In order to reduce forming defects and trial production cost, computer simulation technology is employed in cold roll forming. Based on the updated Lagrange method in deformation mechanics, a theoretical model of elastic–plastic large deformation spline finite strip method is presented in this paper. The method has been employed to analyse the progressive roll forming process of the deformed strip, and the three dimensional displacement, strain, and stress fields between two stands during the multiple cold rolls forming process. The calculation results prove that the outer edge and the corner part of the deformed strip are submitted to larger deformation. The transverse deformation is principal, and the longitudinal deformation is small. This program, written in C language, can also be used to analyse other simple cross-sectional profiles.