Plastic instability in dual-pressure tube-hydroforming process

The tube-hydroforming process has become an indispensable manufacturing technique in recent years. Successful tube hydroforming requires bulging to take place without causing any type of instability such as bursting, wrinkling or buckling. The dual-pressure tube-hydroforming process was introduced to achieve a favorable tri-axial stress state in the deformation process. In this paper, the effect of applying counter pressure on plastic instability of thin-walled tubes is analyzed. It is concluded that in dual-pressure tube hydroforming, the onset of plastic instability is delayed and the ductility of the metal is increased.     

Analysis and finite element simulation of the tube bulge hydroforming process

To investigate the effect of the loading path on the forming result and get the reasonable range of the loading path in tube bulge hydroforming process, a mathematical model considering the forming tube as an ellipsoidal surface is proposed to examine the plastic deformation behavior of a thin-walled tube during the tube bulge hydroforming process in an open die, and thus different loading paths are gained based on this model. The finite element code Ls-Dyna is also used for simulating the tube bulge hydroforming process. The effect of the loading paths on the bulged shape and the wall thickness distribution of the tube are discussed, and then the reasonable range of the loading path for the tube bulge hydroforming process is determined.     

Analysis and finite element simulation of the tube bulge hydroforming process

To investigate the effect of the loading path on the forming result and get the reasonable range of the loading path in tube bulge hydroforming process, a mathematical model considering the forming tube as an ellipsoidal surface is proposed to examine the plastic deformation behavior of a thin-walled tube during the tube bulge hydroforming process in an open die, and thus different loading paths are gained based on this model. The finite element code Ls-Dyna is also used for simulating the tube bulge hydroforming process. The effect of the loading paths on the bulged shape and the wall thickness distribution of the tube are discussed, and then the reasonable range of the loading path for the tube bulge hydroforming process is determined.     

Optimization of loading path in hydroforming T-shape using fuzzy control algorithm

The loading path is crucial to the quality of forming parts in the process of tube hydroforming, and thus the design and optimization of loading path is an important issue for tube hydroforming. Wrinkling is a catastrophic defect for thin-walled tube hydroforming. In order to avoid wrinkling, an adaptive simulation approach integrated with a fuzzy control algorithm is used to optimize the loading path of hydroforming a T-shaped tube. The tubular material used is stainless steel and has an outer diameter of 103 mm and the wall thickness of 1.5 mm. The controlled variables are the axial feeding, the counterpunch displacement, and the internal pressure. A code is developed to make the optimization automatically, which works together with LS-DYNA. Six evaluation functions are adopted for identifying geometrical shape and quality of T-shape. Failure indicators obtained from the simulation results are used as the input of the fuzzy control, and then process parameters are adjusted according to the expert experiences in the fuzzy controller. In this way, a reasonable loading path for producing a sound T-shape is obtained, and also a T-shaped product is successfully hydroformed by experiment. The result shows that the fuzzy control algorithm can provide an adequately reliable loading path for hydroforming T-shaped tubes.     

Study on experimental approaches of forming limit curve for tube hydroforming

This paper proposes a set of experimental approaches to establish the forming limit curve (FLC) in different forming modes for tube hydroforming. In tension–compression strain state, analytical models are constructed to determine the linear strain paths at the pole of the hydroformed tube, and a self-designed free hydroforming apparatus with axial feeding and internal pressure are used to carry out the bulge tests. In plane strain state, the difference is that both ends of the tube are fixed with different punches. In tension–tension strain state, a novel hydroforming apparatus are designed. The novel device requires the simultaneous application of lateral compression force and internal pressure to control the material flow under tension–tension strain states. The linear strain paths for the right hand side of FLC by finite element method simulation are calculated. The linear strain paths in different strain states are verified and the FLC of roll-formed QSTE340 seamed tube is constructed through the proposed experimental approaches. Comparison between simulation and experimental results for hydroforming process of front crossmember shows that the experimental FLC is accurate and valid for tube hydroforming.     

弯曲轴线薄壁焊管内高压成形壁厚与变形规律的研究*

为了揭示焊缝对弯曲轴线类管件内高压成形的影响及缺陷产生的机制,采用试验和数值模拟的方法研究弯曲轴线焊管内高压成形的主要缺陷及壁厚分布规律,并分析焊缝在不同工序间的综合影响。结果表明,即使焊缝远离圆角区域,焊缝仍然是缺陷易发部位,弯曲使焊缝塑性下降,并导致在后续的工序中发生起皱甚至开裂。对于弯曲轴线薄壁焊管内高压成形,壁厚主要受弯曲和高压整形工序的影响,预成形工序对壁厚影响不大,而且焊缝的壁厚变化量始终小于其他区域。由此可知,焊缝是导致弯曲轴线薄壁焊管内高压成形缺陷产生的重要影响因素,将焊缝置于轻微压缩变形部位,是克服焊接接头性能下降导致的成形能力不足和避免缺陷产生的有效手段。     

Hydroforming of aluminum extrusion tubes for automotive applications. Part II: process window diagram

Based on the mathematical formulations for predicting forming limits induced by buckling, wrinkling and bursting of free-expansion tube hydroforming, a theoretical “Process Window Diagram” (PWD) is proposed and established in this paper. The theory developed in the first part of the present work was formulated within the context of free-expansion tube hydroforming with both combined internal pressure and end feeding. The PWD is designed to provide a quick assessment of part producibility for tube hydroforming. The predicted PWD is validated against experimental results conducted for 6260-T4 60×2×320 (mm) aluminum tubes. An optimal loading path is also proposed in the PWD with an attempt to define the ideal forming process for aluminum tube hydroforming. Parametric studies show that the PWD has a strong dependency on tube geometry, material property and process parameters. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt that a PWD is being formulated theoretically. Such a concept can be advantageous in deriving design solutions and determining optimal process parameters for tube hydroforming processes.     

内高压成形机理与关键技术

在中国国家杰出青年科学基金资助项目“镁合金热态液力成形技术”、中国国家自然科学基金资助项目“轻体件高内压液力成形机理的研究”、“管材热态内压成形新方法及其机理研究”和“激光拼焊管内高压成形机理”、以及中国教育部高等学校博士学科点专项科研基金资助项目“镁合金热态内高压成形机理研究”共同资助下,开展内高压成形机理及关键技术研究,在内高压成形塑性变形规律、起皱和破裂等失稳行为、提高成形极限和降低成形压力方法,以及液力胀接、热态内压成形和拼焊管内高压成形等方面取得重要进展,并在汽车和航天等领域实现内高压成形技术产业化应用,报告上述研究的理论和工程体系。 根据塑性变形特点,将内高压成形分为变径管内高压成形(IHPF of TPVD)、弯曲轴线管内高压成形(IHPF of TPCA)和多通管内高压成形(IHPF of TPB/BT)等3类,提出IHPF of TPVD由充填、成形、整形等步骤组成,IHPF of TPCA由弯曲、预成形、内高压成形等步骤组成,IHPF of TPB/BT由胀形、补料、整形等步骤组成。以此为出发点,通过实验和理论分析,研究IHPF塑性变形规律与失稳行为。     

Study on the crushing and hydroforming processes of tubes in a trapezoid-sectional die

A study on the bulging processes of tubes in a trapezoid-sectional die has been carried out through finite-element (FE) analysis. A FE model of the single-step hydroforming process and several FE models of crushing combined with subsequent hydroforming processes in a trapezoid-sectional die with different die closing seams are proposed. The simulations are performed using the FE code LS-DYNA. For the single-step hydroforming process, the effects of loading paths on the formability of the trapezoid-sectional part are investigated. In the case of the crushing combined with subsequent hydroforming processes, the effects of die closing seams, tube diameters, and preforming loading paths on the forming process and the final parts are analyzed. A comparison between the parts formed through single-step hydroforming process and through crushing combined with subsequent hydroforming processes is performed. Finally, an experiment of tube hydroforming in a trapezoid-sectional die is carried out on the hydroforming machine developed by Shanghai Jiaotong University. The simulation results show good agreement with the experimental results.     

Analysis and design of hydroformed thin-walled tubes using enhanced one-step method

This paper deals with the analysis and design of tube hydroforming parameters in order to reduce defects which may occur at the end of the forming process, such as necking and wrinkling. We propose a specific methodology based on the coupling between an enhanced one-step method for the rapid simulation of tube hydroforming process and a surrogate model based on a metamodeling technique. The basic formulation of the one-step method has been modified and adapted for the modeling of 3D tube hydroforming problems in which the initial geometry is a circular tube expanded by internal pressure and submitted to axial feeding. In the surrogate model, approximate responses are built using moving least squares method and constructed within a moving region of interest which moves across a predefined discrete grid of authorized experimental designs. Two applications of tube hydroforming of aluminum alloy 6061-T6 have been utilized to validate our methodology. The final design is validated using experiments together with the classical explicit dynamic incremental approach using ABAQUS? commercial code.     

超高压管材液压成形控制系统的研制

介绍了管材液压成形工艺,根据液压成形原理,自主研制出具备高压发生器、阀门管路等配件的超高压液压系统,同时通过可编程控制器实现对电磁元件的控制,有效地解决了管材在液压成形过程中的端口密封、进给补料等关键问题,为管材液压成形的实验研究奠定了基础。     

A comparative study of implicit and explicit FEM for the wrinkling prediction in the hydroforming process

The recent application of tube hydroforming in the automotive industry demands finite element analysis, since it is rapidly being used as an effective tool for the evaluation and optimisation of the design of hydroforming dies and processes. In this paper, attention is paid to the comparison of an implicit and an explicit FEM widely used for the hydroforming process. The influences of time scaling and mass scaling, which have been commonly used in order to save computational time in the explicit method, are especially investigated. The comparisons focus on the predictability of wrinkling and stress with various scaling factors in the explicit method. Through verifications with experimental results, a useful guideline in determining the scaling factors is proposed.     

Evaluating the flow stress of aerospace alloys for tube hydroforming process by free expansion testing

In order to obtain accurate tube hydroforming (THF) simulation results, one of the important inputs in the finite element model (FEM) of the process is the mechanical response of the material during THF. Generally, the mechanical response is defined by the stress–strain behavior that can be determined from tensile testing of the specimens extracted either from the sheet used for roll forming of the tubes or directly from the tubes. More recently, free expansion testing has been used to characterize the mechanical response of the material for hydroforming applications. The free expansion test can emulate process conditions similar to those found during THF, and as such, can be used to obtain reliable and accurate information on the mechanical response/properties of the tubular material. The aim of this research is to present an approach for evaluating the stress–strain behavior of different materials using a 3D deformation measurement system in conjunction with an analytical model. Here, to characterize the mechanical response of the materials, free expansion and tensile testing were used for austenitic stainless steel types 321 (SS 321) and 304L (SS 304L), INCONEL® alloy 718 (IN 718), and aluminum alloy 6061 in the annealed “0” temper condition (AA 6061-0). The mechanical response of each material, measured through free expansion testing of tubular forms, was compared to the respective stress–strain behavior determined from the uniaxial tensile test using ASTM E8 geometry specimens extracted from the tubes. For each material studied in this work, the two flow stress behaviors were distinct, indicating that the test method can have a noticeable effect on the mechanical response. Finite element analysis (FEA) of the free expansion of each material was also utilized to simulate the THF process with the flow stress curves obtained experimentally; the predicted expansion and burst pressure results were close to the experimental data indicating that the approach developed and described in this work has merit for characterizing the mechanical response of aerospace alloys for hydroforming applications.     

Analytical model for planar tube hydroforming: Prediction of formed shape, corner fill, wall thinning, and forming pressure

An analytical model for planar tube hydroforming based on deformation theory has been developed. This analytical model can be used to predict hydroformed shape, corner fill, wall thinning, and forming pressure. As the model is based on a mechanistic approach with bending effects included, local strain and stress distribution across the wall thickness can be determined. This includes strain and stress distributions for the outer layer, inside layer, and middle layer. The model is validated using finite element analysis and tube hydroforming experiments on irregular triangular, irregular quadrilateral, and pentagonal hydroformed shapes.     

ANALYSIS OF MECHANICS IN BALL SPINNING OF THIN-WALLED TUBE

Ball spinning is applied to manufacturing thin-walled tube with high precision and high mechanical properties. On the basis of plastic mechanics, by simplifying ball spinning of thin-walled tube as plane strain problem, slab method is used for the purpose of calculating the contact deformation pressure. The spinning force components, the torsional moment, the deformation power and the deformation work are calculated further as well. The influence of the two important process parameters such as the feed ratio and the ball diameter on the spinning force components is analyzed in order to further control the spinning force components by regulating the two process variables during the ball spinning process. The stress and strain state in deformable zone as well as mechanics boundary conditions in ball spinning are obtained. The effect of the three spinning force components on the formability of the spun part is analyzed and validated through the ball spinning experiments. The theoretical and experimental results show that the radial spinning component plays a significant role in ball spinning of thin-walled tube, and the mechanics situation in backward ball spinning contributes to enhancing the plasticity of the metal material, but that in forward ball spinning contributes to advancing the axial flow of the metal material.     

Experimental study and finite element analysis of simple X- and T-branch tube hydroforming processes

The tube hydroforming process is a relatively complex manufacturing process; the performance of this process depends on various factors and requires proper combination of part design, material selection and boundary conditions. Due to the complex nature of the process, the best method to study the behaviour of the process is by using numerical techniques and advanced explicit finite element (FE) codes. In this work, X- and T-branch components were formed using a tube hydroforming machine and experimental load paths (forming pressure and axial feed) were obtained for the processes via a data acquisition system integrated with the machine. Subsequently, the processes were simulated using LS-DYNA3D explicit FE code using the same experimental boundary, loading conditions and the simulation results were compared with the experimental results. It was found that the developed branch height and the wall thickness distribution along different planes were in good agreement with the experimental results.     

Application of the hydroforming strain- and stress-limit diagrams to predict necking in metal bellows forming process

In order to predict the initiation of necking in metal bellows forming process, a methodology for determination of the forming limit diagram and the forming limit stress diagram is represented in this paper. The methodology is based on the Marciniak and Kuczynski (M–K) model. Comparison between the experimental and theoretical results for hydroforming stress and strain-limit diagrams as predicted by different methods indicates that the present approach is suitable for prediction of necking in tube hydroforming processes. Afterwards, the implementation of the hydroforming strain- and stress-limit diagrams into finite element numerical simulations for the forming of the metal bellows is established. A satisfactory agreement between the finite element method (FEM) and test results is achieved.     

Multi-objective optimization of forming parameters for tube hydroforming process based on the Taguchi method

Tube hydroforming is an attractive manufacturing technology which is now widely used in many industries, especially the automobile industry. The purpose of this study is to develop a method to analyze the effects of the forming parameters on the quality of part formability and determine the optimal combination of the forming parameters for the process. The effects of the forming parameters on the tube hydroforming process are studied by finite element analysis and the Taguchi method. The Taguchi method is applied to design an orthogonal experimental array, and the virtual experiments are analyzed by the use of the finite element method (FEM). The predicted results are then analyzed by the use of the Taguchi method from which the effect of each parameter on the hydroformed tube is given. In this work, a free bulging tube hydroforming process is employed to find the optimal forming parameters combination for the highest bulge ratio and the lowest thinning ratio. A multi-objective optimization approach is proposed by simultaneously maximizing the bulge ratio and minimizing the thinning ratio. The optimization problem is solved by using a goal attainment method. An example is given to illustrate the practicality of this approach and ease of use by the designers and process engineers.     

Bursting failure prediction in tube hydroforming processes by using rigid–plastic FEM combined with ductile fracture criterion

The most common failure in tube hydroforming is the bursting failure due to excessive thinning of large deformation. To evaluate the forming limit of hydroforming processes, the Oyane's ductile fracture integral I was introduced and calculated from the histories of stress and strain according to every element by using the rigid–plastic finite element method. The region of fracture initiation and the forming limit for three hydroforming processes, such as a tee extrusion, an automobile rear axle housing, and a lower arm under different forming conditions are predicted in this study. Also it is shown that the material parameters used in the ductile failure can be obtained from the experimental forming limit diagram. From the results, the prediction of the bursting failure and the plastic deformation for the three hydroforming examples demonstrates to be reasonable so that this approach can be extended to a wide range of practical tube hydroforming processes.     

Hydroforming of aluminum extrusion tubes for automotive applications. Part I: buckling, wrinkling and bursting analyses of aluminum tubes

Three possible failure modes have been identified in tube hydroforming: buckling, wrinkling and bursting. A general theoretical framework is proposed for analyzing these failure modes as an elastoplastic bifurcation problem. This framework enables advanced yield criteria and various strain-hardening laws to be readily incorporated into the analysis. The effect of plastic deformation on the geometric instability in tube hydroforming, such as global buckling, axisymmetric wrinkling and asymmetric wrinkling, is precisely treated by using the exact plane stress moduli tensor. A mathematical formulation for predicting the localized condition for bursting failure is established herein. Furthermore, the critical conditions governing the onset of buckling, axisymmetric wrinkling and asymmetric wrinkling are derived in closed-form expressions for the critical axial compressive stresses. Closed-form solutions for the critical stress are developed based on Neale–Hutchinson's constitutive equation and an assumed deformation theory of plasticity. It is demonstrated that the onset of asymmetric wrinkling always requires a higher critical axial compressive stress than the axisymmetric one under the context of tube hydroforming with applied internal pressure and hence the asymmetric wrinkling mode can be excluded in the analysis of tube hydroforming. Parametric studies show that buckling and axisymmetric wrinkling are strongly dependent on geometric parameters such as t₀/r₀ and r₀/ℓ₀, and that axisymmetric wrinkling is the predominant mode for short tubes while global buckling occurs for long slender tubes.