Microstructure Distribution Characteristics of High-Strength Aluminum Alloy Thin-Walled Tubes during Multi-Passes Hot Power Backward Spinning Process

The microstructure of the thin-walled tubes with high-strength aluminum alloy determines their final forming quality and performance. This type of tube can be manufactured by multi-pass hot power backward spinning process as it can eliminate casting defects, refine microstructure and improve the plasticity of the tube. To analyze the microstructure distribution characteristics of the tube during the spinning process, a 3D coupled thermo-mechanical FE model coupled with the microstructure evolution model of the process was established under the ABAQUS environment. The microstructure evolution characteristics and laws of the tube for the whole spinning process were analyzed. The results show that the dynamic recrystallization is mainly produced in the spinning deformation zone and root area of the tube. In the first pass, the dynamic recrystallization phenomenon is not obvious in the tube. With the pass increasing, the trend of dynamic recrystallization volume percentage gradually increases and extends from the outer surface of the tube to the inner surface. The fine-grained area shows the states of concentration, dispersion, and re-concentration as the pass number increases. .

ENERGY ABSORPTION CONTROL CHARACTERISTICS OF AL THIN-WALLED TUBES UNDER IMPACT LOAD

An experimental investigation was carried out to study the energy absorption characteristics of thin-walled square tubes subjected to dynamic crushing by impact loading to develop the optimum structural members. Here, the controller is introduced to improve and control the absorbed energy of thin-walled square tubes in this paper. When the controller were used, the experimental results of crushing of square tubes controlled by the controller＇s elements showed a good candidate for a controllable energy absorption capability in impact crushing.

Combined stress waves with phase transition in thin-walled tubes

The incremental constitutive relation and governing equations with combined stresses for phase transition wave propagation in a thin-walled tube are established based on the phase transition criterion considering both the hydrostatic pressure and the deviatoric stress. It is found that the centers of the initial and subsequent phase transition ellipses are shifted along the sigma-axis in the sigma tau-plane due to the tension-compression asymmetry induced by the hydrostatic pressure. The wave solution offers the 'fast' and 'slow' phase transition waves under combined longitudinal and torsional stresses in the phase transition region. The results show some new stress paths and wave structures in a thin-walled tube with phase transition, differing from those of conventional elastic-plastic materials.

A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF RADIAL INERTIA ON THE ELASTO-PLASTIC COMBINED STRESS WAVE PROPAGATION IN THIN-WALLED TUBES

An in-depth analysis of propagation characteristics ofelasto-plastic combined stress waves in circular thin-walled tubeshas been made. In obtaining the simple-wave solution, however, mostresearches have ignored the influence of the circumferential stressrelated to the radial inertial ef- fect in the tubes. In this paperthe incremental elasto-plastic constitutive relations which areconve- nient for dynamic numerical analysis are adopted, and thefinite-difference method is used to study the evolution adpropagation of elasto-plastic combined stress waves in a thin-walledtube with the radial inertial effect of the tube considered. Thecalculation results are compared with those obtained when the radialinertial effect is not considered. The calculation results show thatthe radial inertial effect of a tube has a fairly great influence onthe propagation of elasto-plastic combined stress waves.

Deformation and densification behavior of discrete media filled thin-walled tubes during forward extrusion

Discrete media filled thin-walled hollow profiles are frequently used as integer structures for special purpose, e.g., in certain materials processing or architectural components. To understand the deformation of such composite structures which is a complicate mechanics process, involving coupled elastic-plastic deformation of dense metal, compaction of particle and interaction between the filler and the wall, the forward extrusion of Al 6061 tubes filled with various particles was studied. The analysis regarding internal volume variation of round tubes during forward extrusion indicates that with the diameter reduction the volume of tubes decreases commonly. The cavity shrinkage brings about triaxial pressure on the filler, resulted in compaction and densification of it. Loose powders filling leads to higher extrusion load. Due to dissimilar migration behaviors of the particles, the load?stroke curves of the tubes filled with fine powders and coarse balls are quite different. Small Lankford value of the tube wall material leads to higher hydrostatic pressure of the filler and then more powders are compacted.

Buckling Analysis of Thin-Walled Tubes Composed of Plastoelastic/Viscoelastic Materials under Inflation

It has been shown that thin-walled hyperelastic tubes could bulge under inflation. In this paper we investigate the possibility of bulging for thin-walled tubes composed of plastoelastic/viscoelastic materials. A general bifurcation condition is derived by near-critical post-bifurcation analysis, which can degenerate into an existing special one for hyperelastic tubes. It is demonstrated that the linearly elastic and plastoelastic tubes can bulge under inflation, but viscoelastic tubes cannot bulge unless the value of inflating pressure is just equal to the one of the critical pressure for the corresponding elastic tubes.

Crashworthiness Design and Multi-Objective Optimization of Bionic Thin-Walled Hybrid Tube Structures

Thin-walled structures are widely used in cars due to their lightweight construction and energy-absorbing properties.However,issues such as high initial stress and lowenergy-absorbing efficiency arise.This study proposes a novel energy-absorbing structure inwhich a straight tube is combinedwith a conical tube and a bamboo-inspired bulkhead structure is introduced.This configuration allows the conical tube to flip outward first and then fold together with the straight tube.This deformation mode absorbs more energy and less peak force than the conical tube sinking and flipping inward.Through finite element numerical simulation,the specific energy absorption capacity of the structure is increased by 26%compared to that of a regular circular cross-section tube.Finally,the impact resistance of the bionic straight tapered tube structure is further improved through multi-objective optimization,promoting the engineering application and lightweight design of hybrid cross-section tubes.

Influence of the Radial Inertia Effect on the Propagation Law of Stress Waves in Thin-Walled Tubes

This investigation focused on the influence of the radial inertia effect on the propagation behavior of stress waves in thin-walled tubes subjected to combined longitudinal and torsional impact loads.Generalized characteristics theory was used to analyze the main features of the characteristic wave speeds and simple wave solutions in thin-walled tubes.The incremental elastic-plastic constitutive relations described by the rate-independent plasticity were adopted,and the finite difference method was used to investigate the evolution and propagation behaviors of combined elasticplastic stress waves in thin-walled tubes when the radial inertial effect was considered.The numerical results were compared with those obtained when the radial inertia effect was not considered.The results showed that the speed of the coupled stress wave increased when the radial inertia effect was considered.The hardening modulus of the material in the plastic stage had a greater impact on the coupled slow waves than on the coupled fast waves.

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.

Sandwich structures with tapered tubes as core:A quasi-static investigation

In this article,the experimental and finite element analysis is utilized to investigate the quasi-static compression features of sandwich constructions built with tapered tubes.3D printing technology was utilized to create the hollow centers of the tapering tubes,with and without corrugations.The results demonstrate that the energy absorption(EA)and specific energy absorption(SEA)of the single corrugated tapered tube sandwich are 51.6% and 19.8% higher,respectively,than those of the conical tube sandwich.Furthermore,the results demonstrate that energy absorbers can benefit from corrugation in order to increase their efficiency.Additionally,the tapered corrugated tubes'resistance to oblique impacts was studied.Compared to a straight tube,the tapered tube is more resistant to oblique loads and has a lower initial peak crushing force(PCF),according to numerical simulations.After conducting a parametric study,it was discovered that the energy absorption performance of the sandwich construction is significantly affected by the amplitude,number of corrugations,and wall thickness.EA and SEA of DTS with corrugation number of 8 increased by 17.4%and 29.6%,respectively,while PCF decreased by 9.2% compared to DTS with corrugation number of 10.

Optimization of Fixture Number in Large Thin-Walled Parts Assembly Based on IPSO

There are lots of researches on fixture layout optimization for large thin-walled parts.Current researches focus on the positioning problem,i.e.,optimizing the positions of a constant number of fixtures.However,how to determine the number of fixtures is ignored.In most cases,the number of fixtures located on large thin-walled parts is determined based on engineering experience,which leads to huge fixture number and extra waste.Therefore,this paper constructs an optimization model to minimize the number of fixtures.The constraints are set in the optimization model to ensure that the part deformation is within the surface profile tolerance.In addition,the assembly gap between two parts is also controlled.To conduct the optimization,this paper develops an improved particle swarm optimization(IPSO)algorithm by integrating the shrinkage factor and adaptive inertia weight.In the algorithm,particles are encoded according to the fixture position.Each dimension of the particle is assigned to a sub-region by constraining the optional position range of each fixture to improve the optimization efficiency.Finally,a case study on ship curved panel assembly is provided to prove that our method can optimize the number of fixtures while meeting the assembly quality requirements.This research proposes a method to optimize the number of fixtures,which can reduce the number of fixtures and achieve deformation control at the same time.

Development of Fixture Layout Optimization for Thin-Walled Parts:A Review

An increasing number of researchers have researched fixture layout optimization for thin-walled part assembly during the past decades.However,few papers systematically review these researches.By analyzing existing literature,this paper summarizes the process of fixture layout optimization and the methods applied.The process of optimization is made up of optimization objective setting,assembly variation/deformation modeling,and fixture layout optimization.This paper makes a review of the fixture layout for thin-walled parts according to these three steps.First,two different kinds of optimization objectives are introduced.Researchers usually consider in-plane variations or out-of-plane deformations when designing objectives.Then,modeling methods for assembly variation and deformation are divided into two categories:Mechanism-based and data-based methods.Several common methods are discussed respectively.After that,optimization algorithms are reviewed systematically.There are two kinds of optimization algorithms:Traditional nonlinear programming and heuristic algorithms.Finally,discussions on the current situation are provided.The research direction of fixture layout optimization in the future is discussed from three aspects:Objective setting,improving modeling accuracy and optimization algorithms.Also,a new research point for fixture layout optimization is discussed.This paper systematically reviews the research on fixture layout optimization for thin-walled parts,and provides a reference for future research in this field.

Meter-Scale Thin-Walled Structure with Lattice Infill for Fuel Tank Supporting Component of Satellite:Multiscale Design and Experimental Verification

Lightweight thin-walled structures with lattice infill are widely desired in satellite for their high stiffness-to-weight ratio and superior buckling strength resulting fromthe sandwich effect.Such structures can be fabricated bymetallic additive manufacturing technique,such as selective laser melting(SLM).However,the maximum dimensions of actual structures are usually in a sub-meter scale,which results in restrictions on their appliance in aerospace and other fields.In this work,a meter-scale thin-walled structure with lattice infill is designed for the fuel tank supporting component of the satellite by integrating a self-supporting lattice into the thickness optimization of the thin-wall.The designed structure is fabricated by SLM of AlSi10Mg and cold metal transfer welding technique.Quasi-static mechanical tests and vibration tests are both conducted to verify the mechanical strength of the designed large-scale lattice thin-walled structure.The experimental results indicate that themeter-scale thin-walled structure with lattice infill could meet the dimension and lightweight requirements of most spacecrafts.

An electromagnetic semi-active dynamic vibration absorber for thin-walled workpiece vibration suppression in mirror milling

As critical components of aircraft skins and rocket fuel storage tank shells,large thin-walled workpieces are susceptible to vibration and deformation during machining due to their weak local stiffness.To address these challenges,we propose a novel tunable electromagnetic semi-active dynamic vibration absorber(ESADVA),which integrates with a magnetic suction follower to form a followed ESADVA(follow-ESADVA)for mirror milling.This system combines a tunable magnet oscillator with a follower,enabling real-time vibration absorption and condition feedback throughout the milling process.Additionally,the device supports self-sensing and frequency adjustment by providing feedback to a linear actuator,which alters the distance between magnets.This resolves the traditional issue of being unable to directly monitor vibration at the machining point due to space constraints and tool interference.The frequency shift characteristics and vibration absorption performance are comprehensively investigated.Theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that the prototyped follow-ESADVA achieves frequency synchronization with the milling tool,resulting in a vibration suppression rate of approximately 47.57%.Moreover,the roughness of the machined surface decreases by18.95%,significantly enhancing the surface quality.The results of this work pave the way for higher-quality machined surfaces and a more stable mirror milling process.

Numerical Analysis of Cold-Formed Thin-Walled Steel Short Columns with Pitting Corrosion during Bridge Construction

Pitting corrosion is harmful during bridge construction,which will lead to uneven roughness of steel surfaces and reduce the thickness of steel.Hence,the effect of pitting corrosion on the mechanical properties of cold-formed thin-walled steel stub columns is studied,and the empirical formulas are established through regression fitting to predict the ultimate load of web and flange under pitting corrosion.In detail,the failure modes and load-displacement curves of specimens with different locations,area ratios,and depths are obtained through a large number of non-linear finite element analysis.As for the specimens with pitting corrosion on the web,all the specimens are subject to local buckling failure,and the failure mode will not change with pitting corrosion,but the failure location will change with pitting corrosion location;the size,location,and area ratio of pitting corrosion have little influence on the ultimate load of cold-formed thin-walled steel short columns,but the loss rate of pitting corrosion section area has a greater impact on the ultimate bearing capacity.As for the specimen with flange pitting corrosion,the location and area ratio of pitting corrosion have less influence on the ultimate load of cold-formed thin-walled steel short columns,and the section area loss rate has greater influence on the ultimate bearing capacity;the impact of web pitting corrosion on the ultimate load is greater than that of flange pitting corrosion under the same condition of pitting corrosion section area.The prediction formulas of limit load which are suitable for pitting corrosion of web and flange are established,which can provide a reference for performance evaluation of corroded cold-formed thin-walled steel.

Hollow tubes constructed by carbon nanotubes self-assembly for CO_(2) capture

Carbon nanotubes(CNTs)have garnered significant attention in the fields of science,engineering,and medicine due to their numerous advantages.The initial step towards harnessing the potential of CNTs involves their macroscopic assembly.The present study employed a gentle and direct self-assembly technique,wherein controlled growth of CNT sheaths occurred on the metal wire’s surface,followed by etching of the remaining metal to obtain the hollow tubes composed of CNTs.By controlling the growth time and temperature,it is possible to alter the thickness of the CNTs sheath.After immersing in a solution containing 1 g/L of CNTs at 60℃for 24 h,the resulting CNTs layer achieved a thickness of up to 60μm.These hollow CNTs tubes with varying inner diameters were prepared through surface reinforcement using polymers and sacrificing metal wires,thereby exhibiting exceptional attributes such as robustness,flexibility,air tightness,and high adsorption capacity that effectively capture CO_(2) from the gas mixture.

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.

Analysis and Optimization of the Electrohydraulic Forming Process of Sinusoidal Corrugation Tubes

Aluminum alloy thin-walled structures are widely used in the automotive industry due to their advantages related to light weight and crashworthiness.They can be produced at room temperature by the electrohydraulic forming process.In the present study,the influence of the related parameters on the forming quality of a 6063 aluminum alloy sinusoidal corrugation tube has been assessed.In particular,the orthogonal experimental design(OED)and central composite design(CCD)methods have been used.Through the range analysis and variance analysis of the experimental data,the influence degree of wire diameter(WD)and discharge energy(DE)on the forming quality was determined.Multiple regression analysis was performed using the response surface methodology.A prediction model for the attaching-die state coefficient was established accordingly.The following optimal arrangement of parameters was obtained(WD=0.759 mm,DE=2.926 kJ).The attaching-die state coefficient reached the peak value of 0.001.Better optimized wire diameter and discharge energy for a better attaching-die state could be screened by CCD compared with OED.The response surface method in CCD was more suitable for the design and optimization of the considered process parameters.

Impact Containment Barriers with Geotextile Tubes

Recently, tragic tailings dam collapses in Brazil have caused deaths and major destruction and the need to develop technologies capable of preventing damage to people and the environment. Brazilian tailings dams are in a situation of uncertainty due to new legislation that even requires decommissioning, an activity that involves many problems and where the risk of failure is the main one. An impact containment structure downstream of these dams can be effective and geotextile tubes, in a new approach, have emerged as an option with advantages in terms of execution, costs and safety. The technology is versatile and can bring many benefits such as the reuse of tailings or filling with low-energy or reused materials. In this research, geotextile tubes were tested as free containment barriers, experiencing impacts in reduced models. The safety factor for the stability of the structure was constructed using an equation which is the ratio between the self-weight of the barrier structure and its coefficient of static friction and the impact pressure, where the data showed an adequate correlation which suggests the viability of mitigating risks.

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.