Abstract
Many parameters influence the frictional behavior of steel sheet during stamping. The contact pressure between a die and a sheet during stamping is one of them. Thus, this parameter is investigated for high strength steel (HSS) sheets, which are widely used for auto body panels due to their potential for weight reduction. Since HSS extend the limits of contact pressure for mild steel, the effect of this parameter on friction cannot be ignored. To investigate the influence of contact pressure on the frictional behavior of steel sheets, a flat type of friction test was conducted on three different steel sheets under various contact pressures. For bare steel sheets, the curve representing the relationship between contact pressure and friction coefficient exhibits a U shape. Coated steel sheets show a similar tendency except at low contact pressure. For these materials, when the contact pressure is very low, the friction coefficient slightly increases with pressure before it starts to decrease. The test results show that the effect of contact pressure on frictional behavior of steel sheet is not negligible even for contact pressures that are lower than the strength of HSS sheet.