Cross-sectional distortion behaviors of thin-walled rectangular tube in rotary-draw bending process

The cross-sectional distortion usually appears during rotary-draw bending process of thin-walled rectangular tube with small bending radius.To study the cross-sectional distortion of the tube,a three-dimensional finite-element model of the process was developed based on ABAQUS/Explicit code and its reliability was validated by experiment.Then,the cross-sectional distortion behaviors of the tube were investigated.The results show that a zone of larger circumferential stress appears on the tube when bending angle reaches 30°.And in the larger circumferential stress zone,the sagging phenomenon is produced obviously.The maximum cross-sectional distortion is located in the larger circumferential stress zone and the angle between the plane of maximum cross-sectional distortion and the bending reference plane is about 50°.The position of the maximum cross-sectional distortion keeps almost unchanged with the variation of the clearances between dies and tube.     

Effects of process parameters on numerical control bending process for large diameter thin-walled aluminum alloy tubes

Numerical control(NC) bending experiments with different process parameters were carried out for 5052O aluminum alloy tubes with outer diameter of 70 mm, wall thickness of 1.5 mm, and centerline bending radius of 105 mm. And the effects of process parameters on tube wall thinning and cross section distortion were investigated. Meanwhile, acceptable bending of the 5052O aluminum tubes was accomplished based on the above experiments. The results show that the effects of process parameters on bending process for large diameter thin-walled aluminum alloy tubes are similar to those for small diameter thin-walled tubes, but the forming quality of the large diameter thin-walled aluminum alloy tubes is much more sensitive to the process parameters and thus it is more difficult to form.     

芯管间隙对JAC590Y高强钢矩形管绕弯成形质量的影响

为了判断JAC590Y高强钢矩形管180°绕弯时芯棒与管坯之间的间隙大小对弯管成形质量的影响,基于Dynaform软件对4种芯管间隙下JAC590Y高强钢薄壁矩形管的绕弯成形分别进行了模拟,得出了不同芯管间隙值下弯管的主要畸变参数。结果表明:在芯管间隙处于一定范围内时,弯管的宽度扩展率受芯管间隙值的影响很小,而中面高度缩减率会随着芯管间隙的增大而变大;弯管上最大的壁厚减薄率出现于紧邻距芯棒最远芯头的横截面上顶板与两侧板的交角处,选取较大的芯管间隙有助于降低弯管的最大壁厚减薄率;JAC590Y高强钢薄壁矩形管180°绕弯成形时芯管间隙率的合理范围为0. 01~0. 025。     

Springback Prediction Model Considering the Variable Young’s Modulus for the Bending Rectangular 3A21 Tube

Springback is inevitable for thin-walled rectangular 3A21 tube in rotary-draw bending process, and Young’s modulus is a crucial material property parameter affecting springback simulation. Therefore, to improve the springback prediction precision, the variation of Young’s modulus with plastic deformation for 3A21 material is studied through a repeated loading-unloading experiment, and a piecewise linear function is given out to describe the relationship between Young’s modulus and plastic strain, which is considered into a new material constitutive model combined with the Von-Mises yield function and the Swift isotropic hardening rule. Furthermore, a finite element springback prediction model is established by means of this new constitutive model for rotary-draw bending process of thin-walled rectangular 3A21 tube, and its reliability is validated experimentally. Comparisons between simulation results and experimental data show that, the accuracy of springback prediction can be improved significantly by 18.02% when the variation of Young’s modulus is considered. On the basis of the established model, the stress distribution field of thin-walled rectangular 3A21 tube in the whole rotary-draw bending process is obtained and analyzed.     

Multiple instability-constrained tube bending limits

Understanding the bending limits is critical to extract the forming potential and to achieve precision tube bending. The most challenging task is the development of the tube bending limits in the presence of unequal deformation induced multiple instabilities and multi-factor coupling effects. Using analytical and 3D-FE methods as well as experiments, a comprehensive map of the tube bending limits during rotary draw bending is provided under a wide range of tube sizes, material types and processing parameters. The major results show: (1) For each instability, the intrinsic factors (tube geometrical parameters, D and t, and mechanical properties, m) dependent bending limits are clarified, and evident interactive or even conflicting effects are observed. (2) Under mandrel bending, the significant effects of the intrinsic factors on the wrinkling limit are reduced, the neglected effects of D/t on the thinning limit are magnified; the significant influences of D/t on the flattening limit even become contrary, and the effects of m on wrinkling and thinning limit are opposite to that on the flattening limit. (3) Taking D/t as the basic design parameter, a conceptual multiple defect-constrained bending limit diagram (BLD) is constructed, and a knowledge-based stepwise method for determining and improving tube bending limits is proposed, considering coupling effects of multiple forming parameters, e.g., intrinsic factors, tooling/processing parameters and uncertainties. (4) The method is experimentally verified by several practical bending scenarios for different kinds of tubular materials with extreme size.     

Determination of forming limit of a structural aluminum tube in rubber pad bending

Rubber pad bending is a novel technique for producing space frame to reduce the weight of automobiles because it can produce bent profiles with various curvatures in a single production set-up. As in other bending processes, cross-section of the aluminum tube deforms during the process. Such a deformed geometry diminishes bending rigidity, making it inappropriate for a structural use in some cases. Thus, it is important to determine a minimum radius of curvature with sufficient bending resistance. In this study, experimental set-up was developed to investigate deformation characteristics of an extruded rectangular aluminum tube in rubber pad bending. For better understanding of the effect of process parameters such as the material property of rubber and roller diameter, finite element (FE) analyses were also conducted. The ratio of the second moment of inertia of the initial and deformed cross-sections of the tube was introduced as a measure of cross-sectional deformation to represent the variation of bending rigidity of the bent tube. In result, a critical value of sectional deformation and minimum formable radius of curvature with maintaining suitable sectional bending rigidity were, respectively, determined under the present process conditions investigated.     

Role of mandrel in NC precision bending process of thin-walled tube

The thin-walled tube NC bending process is a much complex physical process with multi-factors coupling interactive effects. The mandrel is the key to improve bending limit and to achieve high quality. In this study, one analytical model of the mandrel (including mandrel shank and balls) has been established and some reference formulas have been deduced in order to select the mandrel parameters preliminarily, i.e. mandrel diameter d, mandrel extension e, number of balls n, thickness of balls k, space length between balls p and nose radius r. The experiment has been carried out to verify the analytical model. Based on the above analysis, a 3D elastic–plastic FEM model of the NC bending process is established using the dynamic explicit FEM code ABAQUS/Explicit. Thus, the influences of mandrel on stress distribution during the bending process have been investigated, and then the role of the mandrel in the NC precision bending process such as wrinkling prevention has been revealed. The results show the following: (1) Wrinkling in the tube NC bending process is conditional on membrane biaxial compressive stress state; the smaller the difference between the biaxial membrane stresses is, the more possibility of wrinkling occurs. (2) If the mandrels of larger sizes are used, it will cause the neutral axial to move outward and the difference between the in-plane compressive stresses to become more obvious, which may increase minimum wrinkling energy and anti-wrinkling ability. But the larger mandrel sizes make outside tube over-thinning. (3) When the mandrel extension length increases, the neutral axial will move outward and the difference between the biaxial compressive stresses becomes larger, but the significance is less than that of the mandrel diameter. The excessive extension will cause tube to over thin or even crack. (4) The significance of ball number's effect on the neutral axial position and difference between biaxial compressive stresses is between ones of mandrel diameter and mandrel extension. Increasing the ball number will enhance the thinning degree and manufacturing cost. The results may help to better understanding of mandrel role on the improvement of forming limit and forming quality in the process.     

基于Matlab的芯轴最小弯曲半径计算

在薄壁管有芯NC绕弯成形过程中,若弯曲半径过小则芯轴块间易发生碰撞干涉,而最小半径受限于芯轴连接方式和结构参数.通过分析常用芯轴结构特点和发生芯轴块碰撞干涉的位置,关于芯轴直径、球头节个数、球头节间距和芯轴块厚度建立了芯轴最小弯曲半径的解析模型.并采用Matlab工具求解方程得到芯轴的最小弯曲半径,为芯轴的设计和弯曲工艺提供了理论依据.     

Friction role in bending behaviors of thin-walled tube in rotary-draw-bending under small bending radii

For contact dominated rotary-draw-bending (RDB) of thin-walled tube, friction role should be focused to achieve precision bending under small bending radii ratio (R_d/D < 2.0, R_d-bending radius, D-tube diameter). By using explicit FE simulation combined with physical experiment, underlying effects of the friction on bending behaviors are explored from multiple aspects such as wrinkling, wall thickness variation and cross-section deformation. The results show that: (1) By using a simulative twist compression test (TCT), the dynamic contact conditions of RDB with large slipping are reproduced, and the coefficients of the friction (CoFs) under various tribological conditions in RDB are estimated, which provides physical basis for understanding friction role and boundary conditions for FE simulation. (2) Both positive and negative effects of friction role are observed since the friction on each interface affects the multi-defect with different or even contrary tendencies. The effect sensitivity on wrinkling is less obvious than that on wall thinning and cross-section deformation. Under smaller R_d/D, the bending becomes more sensitive to the friction conditions. (3) Considering the knowledge about friction role on individual interface of RDB, by changing two decisive parameters affecting the CoFs such as lubricant types and tube/tool materials, an optimal strategy is proposed to apply the tribological conditions and thus the stable and accurate bending conditions are established for precision forming of RDB under smaller R_d/D.     

基于显著性的薄壁铝合金管小弯曲半径数控弯曲工艺参数优化(英文)

薄壁铝合金管小弯曲半径数控弯曲是个多因素耦合、多模具约束下的复杂过程。提出以有限元模拟为基础,基于显著性的工艺参数优化方法,即采用析因因子设计分析工艺参数对成形质量,即最大壁厚减薄率和最大截面畸变变化率影响的显著性,获得影响显著的参数,即管与防皱模间间隙的最优值,并确定其他影响不显著的参数值,包括管与模具间的间隙和摩擦、芯棒伸出量和助推速度。结果应用于规格为d50mm×1mm×75mm和d70mm×1.5mm×105mm(管外径D0×管壁厚t0×弯曲半径R)的铝合金管弯曲,获得了合格的管件。     

Numerical and experimental study on in-plane bending of microchannel aluminum flat tube

Microchannel aluminum flat tubes have attracted more and more attention in recent years, especially in ACR (air conditioning and refrigeration) industry. Rotary-draw bending is a versatile and precise method in forming of tubes. Compared with traditional out-of-plane bending method, in-plane bending can cause different forming defects. During the process, wall thinning, sectional distortion, wrinkling, and channel shape degradation are the main defects that affect tube quality in industrial applications. In this paper, an experimental apparatus for flat tube in-plane bending is manufactured, and experiments are performed to examine the forming quality of tubes. Considering the characteristics of the bending process, based on the LS-DYNA software environment, a 3D elastic–plastic finite element model is established and validated by experiment. Using the validated FE model, the forming quality of microchannel flat tube bending process is evaluated quantitively. Furthermore, the influence mechanism of process parameters, such as bending radius, tool–tube clearance, and channel diameter, has been revealed. The results indicate that the degradation of the tube channels is relatively small under common process conditions; bending radius is the main factor which influences the forming quality of the flat tube; the tool–tube clearance mainly affects the wrinkling of the flat tubes; channel diameter has little effect on the formability of tube.     

Effect of geometrical parameters on forming quality of high-strength TA18 titanium alloy tube in numerical control bending

The forming quality of high-strength TA18 titanium alloy tube during numerical control bending in changing bending angle β, relative bending radius R/D and tube sizes such as diameter D and wall thickness t was clarified by finite element simulation. The results show that the distribution of wall thickness change ratio Δt and cross section deformation ratio ΔD are very similar under different β; the Δt and ΔD decrease with the increase of R/D, and to obtain the qualified bent tube, the R/D must be greater than 2.0; the wall thinning ratio Δt_o slightly increases with larger D and t, while the wall thickening ratio Δt_i and ΔD increase with the larger D and smaller t; the Δt_o and ΔD firstly decrease and then increase, while the Δt_i increases, for the same D/t with the increase of D and t.     

薄壁管小弯曲半径数控绕弯成形芯模效用的实验研究

薄壁管数控弯曲中带芯头的柔性芯模是提高薄壁管件成形极限和成形精度的关键因素。文章建立了绕弯过程芯模(包括芯棒和芯头)的理论解析模型,包括了芯模直径d、芯棒伸出量e、芯头个数n、芯头厚度k、芯棒/芯头孔心间距p及芯棒圆角半径r等参数的选取公式的推导,获得了不同弯曲规格下的芯模参数取值范围,验证了解析模型的合理性;实验研究了芯模参数对管材失稳起皱、壁厚减薄和截面畸变的影响规律。通过分段抽芯的工艺方法,完成了38mm×1mm×38mm(1D)高难度不锈钢管件的弯曲。     

管端约束对薄壁铝合金管材充液弯曲的影响(英文)

对薄壁铝合金管材的充液弯曲进行数值模拟与实验研究;讨论内压与管端约束对成形结果的影响;分析在管端约束的情况下充液弯曲过程中管材典型点的应力状态。结果表明:在充液内压较高的情况下,管材内侧的起皱现象得到减轻;但是,当内压超过管材发生塑性变形的内压时,管材会在弯曲合模过程中被挤出型腔。由于管端约束而产生的拉应力抵消了弯曲过程中内侧的压应力,管端约束情况下弯曲质量更好。     

薄壁矩形管弯曲过程截面畸变的三维有限元分析

薄壁矩形管的弯曲成形是一个受材料性能和工艺参数等诸多因素交互作用的复杂成形过程,在弯曲过程中极易产生截面畸变等缺陷,导致成形质量难以达到要求。为此,文章提出了薄壁矩形管弯曲成形过程截面畸变的描述方法,并基于ABAQUS/Explicit软件平台,从截面形状变化、截面畸变量大小和弯曲过程中的能量变化等方面,研究了芯棒与管坯间隙和管坯与防皱块之间的摩擦对截面畸变的影响规律。该研究对薄壁矩形管弯曲过程工艺参数的选取,提供了理论依据。     

工艺参数对大口径薄壁矩形管弯曲成形的影响

基于动态显示分析有限元平台Abaqus/explicit,建立了大口径薄壁矩形管弯曲成形的三维有限元模型,模拟分析了变形速度对矩形管弯曲成形失稳起皱的影响规律,试验结果表明:在单独施加旋转速度时薄壁矩形管的失稳起皱程度较大,同步施加旋转速度和助推速度时管件的失稳起皱趋势有所减缓,起皱系数ζ也随着减小。研究结果对薄壁矩形截面管材弯曲成形中工艺参数的选择和优化具有重要意义。     

Analysis on critical conditions of sidewall wrinkling for hydroforming of thin-walled Tee-joint

Based on the sidewall wrinkling phenomena in hydroforming of thin-walled Tee-joint, an analytical model for tube wrinkling under double side constraints was proposed to calculate the critical wrinkling stress. The effects of stress ratio, diameter-to-thickness ratio and tube material properties on critical condition of sidewall wrinkling were investigated. It is found that the middle of the main tube side wall is the most dangerous position for wrinkling within hydroforming of thin-walled Tee-joint. At a certain internal pressure, the critical wrinkling stress increases with increasing of ratio of hoop stress to axial stress and material strength coefficients, but decreases with increasing of work-hardening exponent and ratio of diameter to thickness. Through the analytical model combining FEM simulation, the critical wrinkling loading path according to the relation between axial feeding and internal pressure was obtained. Experimental results validates that wrinkle can be avoided if the pressure is above the critical wrinkling loading path, otherwise, wrinkle occurs. It is also verified that the analytical model of critical wrinkling stress is reasonable for the thin-walled Tee-joint hydroforming process.     

内压对薄壁铝合金管材充液压弯过程的影响

采用实验和数值模拟研究5A02铝合金薄壁管材充液压弯成形过程中内压对缺陷的影响规律,分析内压对弯曲内侧起皱、截面畸变及壁厚分布的影响,获得壁厚变化规律;通过数值模拟给出的应力状态,揭示缺陷形成机制。结果表明:提高内压能降低轴向压应力的绝对值,减小失稳起皱趋势,当内压超过一个临界值时,皱纹完全消除。对于直径为63 mm、壁厚为1 mm的5A02-O铝合金管材,其内压临界值为2.8 MPa。充液有效地减小截面畸变程度,随内压的增大,截面畸变程度逐渐减小。弯曲后,壁厚最大减薄点位于弯曲外侧点,且随内压的增大,轴向和环向拉应力均呈增大趋势,弯曲外侧壁厚度减薄的趋势也增大。     

薄壁钢管内胀推弯成形数值模拟及实验研究

针对薄壁管材弯曲成形过程中内壁起皱、外壁拉裂等成形缺陷,采用内胀推弯工艺成形规格为Φ30mm×0.3mm的1Cr18Ni9Ti薄壁管材。有限元模拟了不同内胀压力下,薄壁管成形性能和壁厚分布,并进行了实验研究。结果表明,该工艺可以很好的解决内壁起皱、外壁拉裂等成形缺陷,对生产实践具有一定的指导意义。