Effect of frictions on cross section quality of thin-walled tube NC bending

The effect of frictions between dies and tube on the cross section quality of thin-walled tube numerical controlled(NC) bending was studied by numerical simulation method, combined with theoretical analysis and experiment. The results show that the frictions between mandrel, wiper, pressure die, bending die and tube have a significant and complicate effect on the section quality of thin-walled tube NC bending. To improve the section quality, frictions between mandrel, wiper and tube should be decreased, but the frictions between the pressure die, bending die and tube increase. The effect on the section distortion is more significant from mandrel, wiper, pressure die to bending die and the effect on the wall thinning more significant from mandrel, pressure die, wiper, to bending die. The effects of frictions between all dies and tube on wall thinning are smaller than their effects on section distortion. Mandrel and wiper should be lubricated well and drawing oil is used to lubricate them in actual production. The frictions between pressure die, bending die and tube should be increased and the dry friction is used between pressure die, bending die and tube in actual production.

A modified Johnson-Cook model for NC warm bending of large diameter thin-walled Ti-6Al-4V tube in wide ranges of strain rates and temperatures

Numerical control（NC） warm bending is a proven strategy to form the large diameter thin-walled（LDTW） Ti-6 Al-4 V tubes, which are typical light-weight and high-performance structural components urgently required in many industries. In virtue of unveiling the thermo-mechanical coupled deformation behaviors, uniaxial tensile tests were conducted on Ti-6 Al-4 V tube within wide ranges of temperatures（25-600 ℃） and strain rates（0.00067-0.1 s～（-1））. Moreover, a modified Johnson-Cook（JC） model is proposed with a consideration of nonlinear strain rate hardening and the interaction between strain hardening and thermal softening. Resultantly, the present model gives more accurate predictions for flow stress over the entire deformation ranges and the maximum error decreases by about 90%. By employing proposed model to NC warm bending, preferable precision is obtained in predicting forming defects including fracture, wrinkling and over thinning. The present work lays foundation for the forming limit prediction and process optimization in NC warm bending of LDTW Ti-6 Al-4 V tubes.

A Study on Multi-defect Constrained Bendability of Thin-walled Tube NC Bending Under Different Clearance

Thin-walled tube numerical control （NC） bending is a tri-nonlinear physical process with multi-defect and multi-die constraints. The clearance on each contact interface is the major factor to indicate the contact conditions. A three-dimensional-finite element （3D-FE） model is established to consider the realistic dynamic boundary conditions of multiple dies under ABAQUS/Explicit platform. Combined with experiment, numerical study on bending behavior and bendability under different clearance between tube and various dies is conducted in terms of wrinkling, wall thinning and cross section deformation. The results show that （1）with smaller clearance of tube-wiper die and tube-mandrel, the wrinkling can be restrained while the wall thinning It and cross-section deformation Id increase; while excessive small clearance blocks tube materials to flow past tangent point and causes piles up, the onset of wrinkling enhances It and Id. （2）Both It and Id decrease with smaller clearance of tube-pressure die; the wrinkling possibility rises with larger clearance on this interface if the mandrel’s freedom along Y-axis is opened; smaller clearance of tube-bend die prevents wrinkling while increases It, and the clearance on this interface has little effect on Id. （3）A modified Yoshida buckling test （YBT） is used to address the wrinkling mechanisms under normal constraints in tube bending： the smaller clearance may restrain wrinkling efficiently; the smaller wall thickness, the less critical clearance needed; the critical clearance for tube bending 38 mm×1 mm×57 mm （tube outer diameter×wall thickness×centerline bending radius） equals about 20% of initial wall thickness.

Significance-based optimization of processing parameters for thin-walled aluminum alloy tube NC bending with small bending radius

Thin-walled aluminum alloy tube numerical control （NC） bending with small bending radius is a complex process with multi-factor coupling effects and multi-die constraints. A significance-based optimization method of the parameters was proposed based on the finite element （FE） simulation, and the significance analysis of the processing parameters on the forming quality in terms of the maximum wall thinning ratio and the maximum cross section distortion degree was implemented using the fractional factorial design. The optimum value of the significant parameter, the clearance between the tube and the wiper die, was obtained, and the values of the other parameters, including the friction coefficients and the clearances between the tube and the dies, the mandrel extension length and the boost velocity were estimated. The results are applied to aluminum alloy tube NC bending d50 mm×1 mm×75 mm and d70 mm×1.5 mm×105 mm （initial tube outside diameter D0 × initial tube wall thickness t0 × bending radius R）, and qualified tubes are produced.

A Study on 3D FE Simulation Method of NC Bending Process of Thin-walled Tube

The numerical control (NC) precision bending process of thin-walled tube is on e of advanced plastic forming processes with high efficiency, forming precision, strength/weight ratio and low cost, thus it is playing more and more important role in manufacturing parts in aerospace and automobile industries. However, the determination of parameters crucial to make sure tube parts qualified is heavil y experience-based and involves repeated trial-and-errors in practice, which makes the production efficiency reduce drastically and does not fulfill the deve lopment of high technology. With quick development of computer technology and gr adual perfect of plastic forming theory, computer numerical simulation based on finite element method (FEM) has become one of important tools of researching and developing plastic forming technology. Development trend of NC precision bendin g process of tube is simulating its forming process by FEM. Because NC tube bend ing is of 3D nature, it is of great importance to analyze the forming mechanism and find out the influence law of forming parameters on forming process in the N C precision bending process of thin-walled tube quantitatively by 3D FE simulat ion. Based on the rigid-plastic finite element method (FEM) principle, a 3-dimens ional (3D) rigid-plastic FE simulation system named TBS -3D (tube bending simu lation by 3D FEM) for the NC bending process of thin-walled tube has been devel oped, a reasonable FEM model has been established. By use of this FEM simulation system, a NC bending process of thin-walled has been simulated. And deformed m eshes under different bending stages, stress distribution along bending directio n, relationship between maximal wall thickness changing ratio and bending angle have been obtained. And then some forming laws of NC tube bending obtained are a s follows: (1) NC bending process make tube elongate to some extent; (2) Charact eristic of stress distribution is that the outer area is undergoing tensile stre ss, the inner area is undergoing compression stress, and stress neutral layer mo ves close to the inner area, which is in good accordance with the practice; (3) Maximal wall thinning ratio in the outer tensile area changes only a little with increase of bending angle, and maximal wall thickening ratio in the inner compr ession area increases linearly with bending angle. The above results show that 3 D FE simulation is an important and valid tool of analyzing NC bending process o f tube, this research is beneficial for the practical tube bending process, and it may serve as a significant guide to the practice of the relevant processes.

Springback of thin-walled tube NC precision bending and its numerical simulation

The springback is one of the key factors which affect the forming quality of thin-walled tube NC precision bending. The elastic-plastic finite element method was proposed to study the springback process of thin-walled tube NC precision bending and the combination of dynamic explicit algorithm and the static implicit algorithm was proposed to solve the whole process of thin-walled tube NC precision bending. Then, the 3D elastic-plastic finite element model was established based on the DYNAFORM platform, and the model was verified to be reasonable. At last, the springback rule of thin-walled tube NC precision bending and the effect of geometry and material parameters on the springback rule of thin-walled tube NC precision bending were studied, which is useful to controlling the springback of thin-walled tube NC precision bending, and the numerical simulation method can be used to study other effect of parameters on the forming quality of thin-walled tube NC precision bending.

Sensitivity of springback and section deformation to process parameters in rotary draw bending of thin-walled rectangular H96 brass tube

In order to study the effects of the process parameters on springback and section deformation, a sensitivity analysis model was established based on the combination use of the multi-parameter sensitivity analysis method and the springback/section deformation prediction finite element model, and by using this model the sensitivities of the springback and the section deformation to process parameters were analyzed and compared. The results show that the most sensitive process conditions for springback angle are the boost speed and the pressure of pressure die, and the most sensitive process condition for section deformation is the number of cores. When the clamp force, the boost speed and the pressure of pressure die are utilized to control section deformation, the effect of these process parameters on springback should be considered. When the process parameters are mainly used to control springback, the effect of these process parameters on the section deformation should be always considered.

Thin-walled aluminum alloy tube NC precision bending based on finite element simulation

Elongation and springback are the bottleneck problems of thin-walled aluminum alloy tube NC precision bending. So thin-walled aluminum alloy tube NC precision bending based on finite element simulation is put forward. The finite element model of thin-walled aluminum alloy tube NC bending is established based on the DYNAFORM platform. The process of thin-walled aluminum alloy tube NC precision bending is simulated with the model and the elongation and springback of tube bending can be gained. A new method of measuring the elongation of thin-walled tube NC precision bending named 'pressure die measuring method' is put forward and the computing equations of bending angle, bending radius, blanking length and initial bending section based on elongation and springback angle are derived. The bending angle, bending radius, blanking length and initial bending section of tube bending can be gained with these equations based on the elongation and springback angle from the simulation. The study can be used to control the quality of thin-walled aluminum alloy tube NC bending so that precision bending without redundance can be realized.

Warm bending mechanism of extrados and intrados of large diameter thin-walled CP-Ti tubes

In order to develop the warming bending technology of the large diameter thin-walled（LDTW） commercial pure titanium alloy CP-Ti tubes, the warm bending mechanism of the extrados and intrados of LDTW CP-Ti tubes was researched. By EBSD analysis and Vickers hardness test, the changes of microstructure and strength of the tubes at different bending temperatures of 293, 423 and 573 K, were analyzed. The results show： 1） The extrados of the bent tube deforms mainly by slip, along with few twinning, and the preferred orientation is similar to that of the initial tube; the intrados of the bent tube experiences compression deformation mainly by {1 012} tensile twinning, and the twinning makes the preferred orientation of wall materials change sharply. 2） The Vickers hardness values of both the extrados and intrados of the samples after bending increase greatly; the Vickers hardness values of the intrados are much higher than those of the extrados, and Vickers hardness values of the RD-TD planes are always higher than those of the RD-LD planes, which are related to the different deformation mechanisms.

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.

A Numerical-analytic Method for Quickly Predicting Springback of Numerical Control Bending of Thin-walled Tube

Springback is one of important factors influencing the forming quality of numerical control （NC） bending of thin-walled tube. In this paper, a numerical-analytic method for springback angle prediction of the process was put forward. The method is based on springback angle model derived using analytic method and simulation results from three-dimensional （3D） rigid-plastic finite element method （FEM）. The method is validated through comparison with experimental results. The features of the method are as follows： （1） The method is high in efficiency because it combines advantages of rigid-plastic FEM and analytic method. （2） The method is satisfactory in accuracy, since the field variables used in the model is resulting from 3D rigid-plastic FEM solution, and the effects both of axial force and strain neutral axis shift have been included. （3） Research on multi-factor effects can be carried out using the method due to its advantage inheriting from rigid-plastic FEM. The method described here is also of general significance to other bending processes.

Effect of mandrel on cross section quality of thin-walled tube numerical controlled bending

The effect of mandrel with the structure of ball and socket on the cross section quality of thin-walled tube numerical controlled(NC) bending was studied by numerical simulation method, combined with theoretical (analysis) and experiment. Influencing factors of the mandrel include the count of mandrel heads, the diameter of mandrel and its position. According to the principle of NC tube bending, quality defects possibly produced in thin-walled tube NC bending process were analyzed and two parameters were proposed in order to describe the cross section quality of thin-walled tube NC bending. According to the geometrical dimension of tube and dies, the range of mandrel protrusion was derived. The finite element model of thin-walled tube NC bending was established based on the DYNAFORM platform, and key technological problems were solved. The model was verified by experiment. The effect of the number of mandrel heads, the diameter of mandrel and the protrusion length of mandrel on the cross section quality of thin-walled tube NC bending was revealed and how to choose mandrel parameters was presented.

Weld Characteristics and NC Bending Formability of QSTE340 Welded Tube

The mechanical characteristics of the weld joint were investigated by tensile test, microstructure test, and microhardness test. The welded tube NC bending tests were carried out to evaluate the weld on the formability of the QSTE340 welded tube. The results show that the wall thinning degree, cross-sectional deformation and springback angle increase significantly as the weld line is located on the outside of the bend compared with that located on the middle and inside, and the welded tubes produce nearly identical performance as the weld line is located on the middle and inside. The wall thickening degree decreases much as the weld line is located on the inside of the bend. So the welded tube can acquire good bending formability as the weld line is located in the region away from the outside of the bend.

Integrated Systemfor Tube Bending Digital Manufacturing

An integrated CAD/CAPP/CAM system of tube manufacturing based on integration frame is presented. In this system, two kinds of data conventions describing tube shape are presented in tube CAD subsystem, the object-oriented concept and the goal-driven inference mechanism have been applied in the development of the knowledge-based CAPP subsystem and simulation of tube processing under tube bending simulation subsystem is performed based on the tube model＇s piecewise representation. A tube product case is considered to give the application of the integrated system, and the advantages of the system in the use of tube bending are revealed.

Forming Characteristics of Al-alloy Large-diameter Thin-walled Tubes in NC-bending Under Axial Compressive Loads

Tube thinning control without wrinkling occurring is a key problem urgently to be solved for improving the forming qualities in numerical control （NC） bending processes of large-diameter Al-alloy thin-walled tubes （AATTs）. It may be a way solving this problem to exert axial compression loads （ACL） on the tube end in the bending. Thus, this article establishes a three-dimensional （3D） elastic-plastic explicit finite element （FE） model for the bending under ACL and has its reliability verified. Through a multi-index orthogonal experiment design, a combination of process parameters, each expressed by a proper range, for this FE model is derived to overcome the compression instability on tube ends. By combining the FE model with a wrinkling energy prediction model, an in-depth study is conducted on the forming characteristics of large-diameter AATTs with small bending radii and it can be concluded that （1） The larger the tube diameters and the smaller the bending radii, the larger the induced tangent tension stress zones on tube intrados, by which the tube maximum tangent compression stress zones will be partitioned in the bending processes; thus, the smaller the ACL roles in decreasing thinning degrees and the larger the compression instability possibilities on tube ends. （2） The tube wrinkling possibilities under ACL are larger than without ACL acting in the earlier forming periods, and smaller in the later ones. （3） For the tubes with a size factor less than 80, the ACL roles in decreasing thinning degrees are stronger than in increasing wrinkling possibilities.

Forming limits under multi-index constraints in NC bending of aluminum alloy thin-walled tubes with large diameters

With increasing diameters of aluminum alloy thin-walled tubes (AATTs), the tube forming limits, i.e. the minimum bending factors, and their predictions under multi-index constraints including wrinkling, thinning and flattening have been being a key problem to be urgently solved for improving tube forming potential in numerical control (NC) bending processes of AATTs with large diameters. Thus in this paper, a search algorithm of the forming limits is put forward based on a 3D elastic-plastic finite element (FE) model and a wrinkling energy prediction model for the bending processes under axial compression loading (ACL) or not. This algorithm enables to be considered the effects of process parameter combinations including die, friction parameters on the multi-indices. Based on this algorithm, the forming limits of the different size tubes are obtained, and the roles of the process parameter combinations in enabling the limit bending processes are also revealed. The followings are found: the first, within the appropriate ranges of friction and clearances between the different dies and the tubes enabling the bending processes with smaller bending factors, the ACL enables the tube limit bending processes after a decrease of the mandrel ball thickness and diameters; then, without considering the effects of the tube geometry sizes on the tube constitutive equations, the forming limits will be decided by the limit thinning values for the tubes with diameters smaller than 80 mm, while the wrinkling for the tubes with diameters no less than 80 mm. The forming limits obtained from this algorithm are smaller than the analytical results, and reduced by 57.39%; the last, the roles of the process parameter combinations in enabling the limit bending processes are verified by experimental results.

Geometry-dependent springback behaviors of thin-walled tube upon cold bending

As one kind of key lightweight components with enormous quantities and diversities, the bent tubular parts have attracted in- creasing applications in aerospace, automobile, etc. Thus, how the inevitable springback behaves under different bending specifications should be fully addressed to efficiently achieve the precision forming of various bent tubes. Taking the medium strength thin-walled 6061-T4 Al-alloy tube as the objective, via the deformation theory of plasticity, explicit/implicit FE method and experimental approaches, we explored and clarified the nonlinear springback rules of the tubes and corresponding mechanisms in universal rotary draw bending regarding angular springback and radius growth by deliberately changing the tube diameter D and wall thickness t. The geometry dependent springback behaviors of thin-walled tube upon cold bending are thus revealed: 1) With the increasing of D, the tangent tensile strain increases and the proportional coefficient decreases, which causes the angular springback to decrease, while the radius springback increases due to the larger bending radius. 2) With the increasing of t, the tangent tensile strain decreases and the proportional coefficient increases, resulting in the increase of both angular springback and radius springback. 3) Under the same D/t, the angular springback varies little, while the radius springback increases with the larger diameter D. 4) The D/t can be used as a reasonable nondimensional index to evaluate the springback angle; as to the radius growth, the individual effects of the D and t should be considered. 5) The verification of the above results was conducted by experiments and analytical analysis.

Effects of geometrical parameters on wrinkling of thin-walled rectangular aluminum alloy wave-guide tubes in rotary-draw bending

Inner flange and side wrinkling often occur in rotary-draw bending process of rectangular aluminum alloy wave-guide tubes, and the distribution and magnitude of wrinkling is related to geometrical parameters of the tubes. In order to study the effects of geometrical parameters on wrinkling of rectangular wave-guide tubes, a 3D-FE model for rotary-draw bending processes of thin-walled rectangular aluminum alloy wave-guide tubes was built based on the platform of ABA-QUS/Explicit, and its reliability was validated by experiments. Simulation and analysis of the influence laws of geometrical parameters on the wave heights of inner flange and side wrinkling were then carried out. The results show that inner flange wrinkling is the main wrinkling way to rectan- gular wave-guide tubes in rotary-draw bending processes, but side wrinkling cannot be neglected because side wrinkling is 2/3 of inner flange wrinkling when b and h are smaller. Inner flange and side wrinkling increase with increasing b and h; the influence of b on side wrinkling is larger than that of h, while both b and h affect inner flange wrinkling greatly. Inner flange and side wrinkling decrease with increasing R/h; the influence of h on inner flange and side wrinkling is larger than that of R.

ExExperimental and numerical studies on the prediction of bendability limit of QSTE340 welded tube in NC bending process

For a low carbon steel tube with small wall factor D/t and bending radius R,the over-thinning induced localized necking is one dominant failure in tube numerical control(NC) bending process,which strongly restricts the bendability limit of the tube.In addition,the deterioration of bendability of a tube is increased by the existence of the weak weld region.Therefore,an important issue is how to determinate and predict the welded tube bendability limit.In the present study,a finite element(FE) model with weld and subdivided heat affected zones under ABAQUS platform is employed to explore the deformation behaviors of welded tube NC bending.A localized necking criterion based on the critical thickness thinning is used to predict the critical principal strains,critical bending radius and burst location during the forming process.It is found that the failures always occur at the rigid supporting point of mandrel flexible balls near the tangent point at the outside of the bend,where the wall thickness of the tube is the lowest.The bending limit curves(BLCs) of the QSTE340 welded tube are obtained by shifting the standard shaped forming limit curve to the critical principal strains along the major strain axis.Comparison between the numerical and experimental results has shown that the BLC and critical bending radius predictions agree well with the experimental results.In addition,the effect of weld positions on BLC is discussed,the weld region shows an almost negligible effect on the forming limit at a non-critical location that is far away from the outside of the bend.However,when the weld is at the large tensile deformation region on the outside of the bend,a decrease of the forming limit strains is seen.

Plastic deformation analysis and forming quality prediction of tube N C bending

Plane strain assumption and exponent hardening law are used to investigate the plastic deformation in tube bending. Some theoretical formulae including stress, curvature radius of neutral layer, angle of neutral layer deviation, bending moment, wall thickness variation and crosssection distortion, are developed to explain the phenomena in tube bending and their magnitudes are also determined. During unloading process, the springback angle is deduced using the virtual work principle, and springback radius is also given according to the length of the neutral layer which remains unchanged before and after springback. The theoretical formulae are validated by the experimental results or the validated simulation results in literature, which can be used to auicklv predict the forming aualitv of tube numerical control （NC） bending.