Abstract In order to improve the prediction capability of spring-back in the computational analysis of sheet metal forming processes, a stress-strain constitutive formulation of non-linear combined hardening rule has been proposed in this paper according to non-linear kinematic hardening theory of Lemaitre and Chaboche and Hill's 1948 anisotropic yielding function. Traditionally, Young's modulus is considered as a constant in engineering application and numerical simulation. In fact, it decreases with plastic deformation. So the effect of the change of Young's modulus with plastic strain on spring-back is considered in the constitutive model. The algorithm of stress update is elastic prediction, plastic correcting and radial returning. Numerical results and experimental results show that the proposed constitutive model significantly improves the prediction accuracy of spring-back.
