Die shape design for T-shape tube hydroforming

In this paper, two design methods for T-shape tube hydroforming dies are proposed, namely, the extrusion-cutting-fillet method (ECFM) and the intersection-fillet method (IFM). Simulations on hydraulic expansion and axial feeding of T-shape tube hydroforming with two dies using the program DEFORM-3D were performed. The influence of the two dies on workpiece formability of T-shape tube hydroforming was examined. Experiments were carried out with SUS304 stainless steel tube at room temperature. A qualified product of T-shape tube, without wrinkling or bursting, was obtained using the die designed by the IFM method.     

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.     

Coupled buckling and plastic instability for tube hydroforming

In this paper, the hydroforming limit of isotropic tubes subjected to internal hydraulic pressure and independent axial load is discussed.Swift's criterion is often used in this case for the prediction of diffuse plastic instability. Here, we first highlight the existence of two different Swift's criteria (for sheets and for tubes).Then, we recall that these types of approaches do not take into account buckling induced by axial loading. In fact, buckling may obviously occur before plastic instability; consequently, Swift's criteria must not be used alone to predict instability in the case of tube hydroforming.Numerical simulation was used to confirm these points and to analyse both the buckling and striction phenomena together. The two types of instability must be treated together in a reasonable approach to the hydroforming process.In this paper, the material verifies a “J2-flow” constitutive rate constitutive law. Jaumann's derivative was chosen and the Prandtl–Reuss equations with von Mises’ yield criterion and the associated flow rule were used. Isotropic hardening was taken into account.     

Influence of end-conditions during tube hydroforming of aluminum extrusions

Tube hydroforming experiments were conducted to develop the forming limit diagram of AA6082-T4 by utilizing three types of end-conditions: (i) “free-end”, (ii) “pinched-end” or “fixed-end” and (iii) “forced-end”. It was found that “free-end” hydroforming gives the lowest forming limits followed by “pinched-end” and “forced-end” hydroforming. It was noticed that the tube failure occurs within 5° to the extrusion weld in the “free-end” experiments, within 7° in the “pinched-end” condition and extended up to 10° in the “forced-end” hydroforming experiments. Finite element simulations were carried out to capture the effects of the weld geometry, weld mechanical properties and the end-conditions of the extruded tube on the maximum induced stress and location of the maximum von Mises stress. It was found that the anisotropy of the weld material and the end-condition used during hydroforming experiments have the largest influence on the failure location with respect to the weld center.     

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.     

Analytical and numerical study on plastic instabilities for axisymmetric tube bulging

In this paper, plastic instabilities of elasto–plastic tubes subject to internal pressure are discussed. For diffuse necking prediction, the classical intrinsic criteria for diffuse necking are accurate for long cylindrical tubes. However, for short tubes, geometric changes are important, and the intrinsic criteria become insufficient. For this purpose, a new diffuse necking criteria is proposed including geometric effects in the prediction.On the other hand, for the local necking prediction, the Hill's criterion is not accurate for short tubes, due to the biaxial stretching. As an alternative, a local necking criterion based on a modified Hill's assumption for localized necking is proposed. The numerical calculations carried out for different tube dimensions, explains the geometrical effects on the localization of deformations for pressurized tubes, and improves the accuracy of the proposed criteria.     

Numerical analysis and design for tubular hydroforming

To get an optimum deformation path for tubular hydroforming, the hydroforming limit of isotropic and anisotropic tubes subjected to internal hydraulic pressure, independent axial load or torque is firstly proposed based on the Hill's general theory for the uniqueness to the boundary value problem and compared with those of the conventional sheet forming. The influences of the deformation path, the material properties and the active length–diameter ratio on the nucleation and the development of wrinkling during the free tubular hydroforming are also investigated. The above theory is used as a criterion and implemented with some new functions in our ITAS3D, an in-house finite element code for simulating the sheet forming, to control the materials flow and to prevent the final failure modes from occurring. Finally, the tubular hydroforming of an automobile differential gear box is taken as an example to show the efficiency and usefulness of the algorithm.     

Analytical and numerical approach to prediction of forming limit in tube hydroforming

Analytical and numerical analyses of forming limit in tube hydroforming under combined internal pressure and independent axial feeding are discussed in this paper. To predict the initiation of necking, Swift's criterion for diffuse plastic instability is adopted based on Hill's general theory for the uniqueness to the boundary value problem. In addition, in order to predict fracture initiation, Oyane's ductile fracture criterion is introduced and evaluated from the histories of stress and strain calculated by means of finite element analysis. From the comparison with a series of tube bulge tests, the prediction of the bursting failure based on the plastic instability and the ductile fracture criterion demonstrates to be reasonable so that these approaches can be extended to a wide range of practical tube hydroforming processes.     

弯管壁厚变形试验及有限元模拟分析

在大量试验的基础上,进行管材弯曲变形过程及其弯管壁厚变形的有限元模拟分析,计算与试验测试结果基本一致.在一定弯曲变形程度内,弯管外侧壁厚变形分布相对均匀,而内侧管壁厚应变值始终存在波浪形分布趋势.影响管材弯曲内、外侧壁厚变形的主要因素是相对弯曲半径、相对壁厚,此外,在其他变形条件相同的情况下,弯管外侧壁厚变薄应变随管外径增大而略有减小.     

Analytical and numerical analyses of local loading forming process of T-shape component by using Coulomb,shear and hybrid friction models

The Coulomb friction model, shear friction model and hybrid friction model were employed to analyze the local loading forming process by using slab method (SM) and finite element method (FEM). The results indicated that predicted results by shear friction model and hybrid friction model are almost the same, but there exists a notable difference between Coulomb friction and the other two friction models. The rib cavity will be filled better under Coulomb friction model, and difference of rib height after forming process between Coulomb friction model and shear friction model increases at first and then decreases with the increase in width of local loading.     

Collapse mode transitions of thin tubes with wall thickness, end condition and shape eccentricity

Transition of deformation mode shapes of round aluminum tubes from axisymmetric concertina to non-axisymmetric diamond mode have been studied with varying tube wall thickness, boundary conditions and tube shape eccentricities. Quasi-static axial compression experiments were carried out on as received aluminum tubes and tubes with wall thickness eccentricity, incorporated by off center machining. Tubes were of D/t=29 and L/D=1.4. The numerical simulation of the collapse phenomenon has been undertaken using a static non-linear finite element analysis in ANSYS with a fine mesh discretization of the tube domain and small incremental displacements as load steps. Convergence studies for the finite element model with respect to load step size and mesh density have also been established. The numerical results are found to compare well with the experimental load compression and energy absorption responses both for the axisymmetric concertina and non-axisymmetric diamond collapse modes. Having validated the numerical model with experiments, it has been used to undertake a systematic study of the load–deformation characteristics, energy absorption response and collapse mode transition of the tubes in varying configurations of wall thickness, shape and inplane boundary condition eccentricities. Dependence of tube collapse characteristics and collapse mode transitions on such eccentricities have been discussed.     

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.     

Experimental and numerical study of membrane properties and pore pressure transmission of Ghom shale

Serious wellbore instability frequently occurs during drilling operations in shale formations. Selection of safe mud parameters to alleviate shale instability problems during drilling operations can benefit from predictive models that consider fully coupled chemo-mechanical phenomena involved in shale-drilling fluid interactions. Although different chemo-poroelastic analyses on these interactions are presented in the literature, only a few experimental measurements and analysis of model predictions are available. In this paper, pore pressure transmission test on Ghom shale is conducted and pore pressure changes in the shale sample under hydraulic and chemical loading is measured. The main outcome of this experiment is the reflection coefficient which is usually used to quantify the osmotic characteristics of the chemically active shale in contact with a water-based fluid. The measured parameter together with other physico-chemical properties of Ghom shale are used to simulate time evolution of pore pressure and solute mass fraction distributions in the sample based on the chemo-poroelastic model of the test and the finite element solution in MATLAB. Comparison with experimental data shows that the simulation results are in good agreement with the actual pressure measurements in the test. This result provides further validation for the theoretical model.     

Analytical and numerical investigation of wrinkling for deep-drawn anisotropic metal sheets

An analysis of the onset of wrinkling is first developed for a doubly curved, elastic–plastic shell element submitted to a biaxial plane stress loading. Plastic yielding is described using a criterion recently proposed for anisotropic sheet metals. The wrinkling limit curves obtained with this analysis are compared with previous results based on different yield criteria. Finite element (FE) simulations of a deep-drawing experiment are also performed using the Abaqus/Explicit code with the aim of comparing the FE results relating to the initiation of wrinkling with the predictions of the analytical model and with experiments from the literature.     

Integration of RP and explicit dynamic FEM for the visualization of the sheet metal forming process

This paper develops a FORTRAN program to convert the explicit dynamic finite element method (FEM)-simulated deformed sheet to the stereolithography (STL) format used in the rapid prototyping (RP) apparatus. Such integration of the RP/FEM can rapidly produce a visualized 3D physical part of the sheet deformation state. Three cases – cylindrical drawing, bore expanding and square cup drawing processes, simulated by explicit dynamic FEM – were investigated to verify the integration system. The wrinkled flange in the cylindrical drawing process, the circle hole expansion in the bore expanding process, and the square cup in the square cup drawing were successfully predicted by explicit dynamic FEM, and the rapid prototyping 3D physical parts also showed good visualization of the deformed sheet for the above three cases. It proves that the integration system of RP/FEM will be able to supply a useful method for the visualization of the 3D physical part in the sheet metal forming process.     

Validity and limitations of linear analytical models for steel wire strands under axial loading, using a 3D FE model

In the field of cable modeling, many models have been proposed to describe the mechanical behavior of simple straight strands under axial loading, and the predictions of these models have been compared to experimental data when available. However, the validity domain of these models has not been evaluated yet because the experimental results reported in the literature are very limited. This problem is addressed here, the results from nine linear elastic models of a 6+1 wire single layered strand (simple straight strand) subjected to static axial loads being compared with values from 3D finite element modeling. The analytical models are shown to give satisfactory estimations of the elastic stiffness constants for lay angles below 20°.     

A constitutive model for transversely isotropic foams, and its application to the indentation of balsa wood

An elastic-plastic constitutive model for transversely isotropic compressible solids (foams) has been developed. A quadratic yield surface with four parameters and one hardening function is proposed. Associated plastic flow is assumed and the yield surface evolves in a self-similar manner calibrated by the uniaxial compressive (or tensile) response of the cellular solid in the axial direction. All material constants in the model (elastic and plastic) can be determined from a combination of a total of four uniaxial and shear tests. The model is used to predict the indentation response of balsa wood to a conical indenter. For the three cone angles considered in this study, very good agreement is found between the experimental measurements and the finite element (FE) predictions of the transversely isotropic cellular solid model. On the other hand, an isotropic foam model is shown to be inadequate to capture the indentation response.     

Prediction of Deformed Configuration and Ductile Fracture for Simple Upsetting Using an Artificial Neural Network

This paper suggests a scheme for simultaneously accomplishing the prediction of fracture initiation and geometrical configuration of deformation in metal forming processes using an artificial neural network. A three-layer neural network is used and a back-propagation algorithm is adapted to train the network. The Cockcroft–Latham criterion is used to estimate whether fracture occurs during the deformation process. The geometrical configuration and the value of ductile fracture are measured by the finite-element method. The predictions of the neural network and the numerical results of simple upsetting are compared. The proposed scheme has predicted the geometrical configuration and fracture initiation successfully.     

Data fusion of acceleration and angular velocity for improved model updating

In the traditional finite element (FE) model updating, translational responses, such as acceleration, have generally been employed to identify the structural properties. However, the boundary conditions of a structure are associated with both translational and rotational DOFs. Thus, the combinational measurement of translational and rotational responses (e.g., angular velocity) would increase accuracy of FE model updating of structures, especially in identifying their boundary conditions. This paper proposes data fusion of translational and rotational responses for improved system identification using FE model updating technique. In the proposed method, the accelerometers and gyroscopes are installed in between and near the supports of a structure, respectively, and FE model updating is carried out using the natural frequencies, the translational mode shapes obtained from accelerations, and the rotational mode shapes obtained from angular velocities. Numerical and experimental verifications are carried out on simply-supported beam structures. The verifications show that the proposed FE model updating strategy based on the data fusion results in more accurate assessment of both structural properties and boundary conditions than the traditional FE model updating using translational responses only.     

Estimation of springback in double-curvature forming of plates: Experimental evaluation and process modeling

This paper presents the results obtained from a series of experiments on double-curvature forming of 300 mm square and 15 mm thick plates of type 316L(N) stainless steel to evaluate the inherent springback and also to validate finite element method (FEM) based process model developed for forming of multiple-curvature sectors of large size vessels. The experimental results show that twisting of the plate occurs during pressing, which is unavoidable in an actual forming setup on the shop floor. Twisting increases with increase in slope of the die cavity. Springback in the plate changes in an ascending order towards the centerline of the plate from the edges. The final radius of curvature (ROC) on the pressed plate after springback does not remain constant along a particular axis although the die and the punch had constant ROC along that axis because of varying constraint to opening up of the plate from centerlines to the edges. Springback also increases with reduction in the stiffness of the die and punch. The simulated plate profiles obtained from the FEM process model for multiple-curvature plate forming compared well with the experiments, the maximum error being within 6%. The process model used a sequential dynamic explicit formulation for the plate pressing phase and a static implicit formulation for the unloading (springback) phase in the Lagrangian framework. Reduced integration shell elements were used for the plate and the die and the punch were considered rigid. Dynamic explicit FEM for pressing and static implicit FEM for the unloading phase are adequate and economic for modeling of plate forming process by using FEM. The necessary material and frictional property data needed for the FEM process model were generated in-house. This model can be applied to design of dies and punches for forming the petals of large pressure vessels. The FEM process model predicts the final shape of the product and the residual cold work level for a given die, punch and plate configuration and this information can be used to correct the die and punch shapes for springback to manufacture the petals to the desired accuracy.