A prediction of bursting failure in tube hydroforming process based on plastic instability

Based on plastic instability, an analytical prediction of bursting failure on tube hydroforming processes under combined internal pressure and independent axial feeding is carried out. Bursting is an irrecoverable phenomenon due to local instability under excessive tensile stresses. In order to predict the bursting failure, three different classical necking criteria – diffuse necking criteria for a sheet, and a tube, and a local necking criterion for a sheet – are introduced. The incremental theory of plasticity for an anisotropic material is adopted and the hydroforming limit, as well as a diagram of bursting failure with respect to axial feeding and hydraulic pressure are presented. In addition, the influences of material properties such as anisotropy parameter, strain hardening exponent and strength coefficient on plastic instability and bursting pressure are investigated. As a result of the above approach, the hydroforming limit with respect to bursting failure is verified with experimental results.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Bursting failure prediction in tube hydroforming using FLSD

In tube hydroforming, circular components are hydrobulged or hydroformed from tubular blanks with internal pressure and simultaneous axial loading. Thus the tube can be fed into the deformation zone during the bulge operation allowing more expansion and less thinning without any defects such as wrinkling, buckling, and bursting. By contrast with the buckling and the wrinkling, the bursting is generally classified as an irrecoverable failure mode. Hence in order to obtain the sound hydroformed products, it is necessary to predict the bursting behavior and to analyze the effects of process parameters on this failure condition in hydroforming processes. In this study, a forming limit stress diagram (FLSD) is constructed by plotting the calculated principal stresses based on the local necking criterion. Using the theoretical FLSD, we carry out the numerical prediction of bursting failure in a hydroforming process, which usually has non-linear strain path. Finite element analyses are carried out to find out the state of stresses during simple hydroforming operation, in which the FLSD is utilized as the forming limit criterion for assessment of the initiation of necking, and influences of the material parameters on the formability are investigated. In addition, the numerical results obtained from the FEM combined with the FLSD are confirmed with a series of bulge tests in view of bursting pressure and show a good agreement. Consequently, it is shown that the theoretical and numerical approach to bursting failure prediction proposed in this paper will provide a feasible method to satisfy the increasing practical demands for assessment of the forming severity in 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.     

A prediction of bursting failure in tube hydroforming processes based on ductile fracture criterion

Bursting is an irrecoverable failure mode in tube hydroforming, in contrast with buckling and wrinkling. To predict bursting failure in the hydroforming processes, Oyane's ductile fracture criterion is introduced and evaluated from the results of stress and strain productions obtained from finite element analysis. The region of fracture initiation and the bursting pressures are predicted and compared with a series of experimental results. It is shown that the material parameters used in the criterion can be obtained from the forming limit diagram. From the simulation results of tube bulging, the prediction of the bursting failure based on the ductile fracture criterion was demonstrated to be reasonable. This approach can be extended to a wide range of practical tube hydroforming processes.     

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.     

Plastic buckling of tubes under axial compression and internal pressure

The plastic buckling and collapse of long cylinders under combined internal pressure and axial compression was investigated through a combination of experiments and analysis. Stainless-steel cylinders with diameter-to-thickness values of 28.3 and 39.8 were compressed to failure at fixed values of internal pressure up to values 75% of the yield pressure. The first effect of internal pressure is a lowering of the axial stress–strain response. In addition, at some plastic strain level, the cylinder develops uniform axisymmetric wrinkling. Under continued compression, the wrinkles grow stably, gradually reducing the axial rigidity of the structure and eventually lead to a limit load instability. All pressurized cylinders remained axisymmetric until the end of the test past the limit load.The critical stress and wavelength were established using classical plastic bifurcation theory based on the deformation theory of plasticity. The evolution of wrinkling, and the resultant limit state, were established by modeling a periodic domain that is one half of the critical wavelength long. The domain was assigned an initial imperfection corresponding to the axisymmetric buckling mode calculated through the bifurcation check. The inelastic material behavior was modeled through the flow theory of plasticity with isotropic hardening. The variations of the axial response and of the limit strain with pressure observed in the experiments were reproduced well by the model. Inclusion of Hill-type anisotropic yielding in all constitutive models was required for good agreement between predictions and experiments.     

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。     

基于成形应力极限的管材液压成形缺陷预测

基于塑性应力应变关系及Hill79屈服准则,推导出极限应力与极限应变间转化关系,进而建立2008T4铝合金的成形应力极限图(Forming limit stress diagram,FLSD)。采用LS-DYNA软件对三通管液压胀形过程进行模拟,应用FLSD预测胀形过程中破裂的发生及成形压力极限,并与传统成形极限图(Forming limit diagram,FLD)结果进行了对比。研究表明,FLD与FLSD预测结果中破裂缺陷位置相同,但极限内压力值存在很大差别,而FLSD预测结果与物理试验结果较吻合。考虑到FLD受应变路径影响显著的因素,将FLSD作为管材液压成形等复杂应变路径下的成形极限的判据更加方便可靠。     

Prediction of necking of high strength steel tubes during hydroforming—multi-axial loading

This article studies tubular hydroforming of high strength low alloy (HSLA) and dual phase (DP600) straight tubes under the action of end feeding loads. Experiments demonstrate that higher end feed loads enhance the formability of the tubes and increase the internal fluid pressure for onset of necking and bursting. Because of the action of the internal pressure and the axial compressive load, the onset of localization (necking) is due to a complex three-dimensional state of stress. Using free expansion experiments, approximate upper and lower bound strain-based forming limit curves are determined for the tube materials. These limit curves, in turn, are used to derive upper and lower bound extended stress-based forming limit curves [Simha et al., Prediction of necking in tubular hydroforming using an extended stress-based FLC. Transactions of the ASME Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology 2007;129(1): 36-47]. In conjunction with finite element computations that use solid elements to model the tube, these stress-based limit curves are used to predict upper and lower bound necking pressures under the action of end feed loading. These predictions of necking pressures, when an appropriate coefficient of tube-die friction is used, are found to bracket the experimentally measured necking pressures. Computations using plane stress shell elements to model the tubes are shown to give erroneous results, since the plane stress approximation is not valid when tubes are hydroformed in a die.     

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.     

铝合金球壳液压胀形试验研究

研究了板厚1.5mm的3A21O铝合金板材和焊接接头的塑性成形能力,进行了铝合金球壳的整体液压胀形实验。实验结果表明:在保证焊接质量的前提下,铝合金球壳的胀形过程能够顺利进行。分析了壳体胀形过程中的变形和应力分布规律,从理论上给出了球壳的胀形屈服应力和开裂应力,最后采用动态显式有限元分析软件LS-DYNA给出了壳体的壁厚分布。     

Plastic buckling of circular tubes under axial compression—part I: Experiments

Elastic buckling of cylindrical shells due to axial compression results in sudden and catastrophic failure. By contrast, for thicker shells that buckle in the plastic range, failure is preceded by a cascade of events, where the first instability and failure can be separated by strains of 1–5%. The first instability is uniform axisymmetric wrinkling that is typically treated as a plastic bifurcation. The wrinkle amplitude gradually grows and, in the process, reduces the axial rigidity of the shell. This eventually leads to a limit load instability, beyond which the cylinder fails by localized collapse. For some combinations of geometric and material characteristics, this limit load can be preceded by a second bifurcation that involves a non-axisymmetric mode of deformation. Again, this buckling mode localizes resulting in failure.The problem is revisited using a combination of experiments and analysis. In Part I, we present the results of an experimental study involving stainless steel specimens with diameter-to-thickness ratios between 23 and 52. Fifteen specimens were designed and machined to achieve uniform loading conditions in the test section. They were subsequently compressed to failure under displacement control. Along the way, the evolution of wrinkles was monitored using a special surface-scanning device. Bifurcation buckling based on the J₂ deformation theory of plasticity was used to establish the onset of wrinkling. Comparison of measured and calculated results revealed that the wrinkle wavelength was significantly overpredicted. The cause of the discrepancy is shown to be anisotropy present in the tubes used. Modeling of the postbuckling response and the prediction of the limit load instability follows in Part II.     

周向裂纹管道在含扭转各种组合变形时的极限载荷分析

到目前为止，还没有文献给中向裂纹管道在非对称弯曲及扭转组合变形时的塑性极限载荷计算公式。文中根据净截面垮塌准则用沙堆比拟法分别求出埋藏裂纹、外表面裂纹、内表面裂纹、穿透裂纹管道发生扭转变形时的塑性极限扭矩；给出含周向裂纹薄壁管道横截面上的剪应力分布规律，其塑性极限扭矩等于一个闭口薄壁截面与一个开口薄壁截面圆环的塑性极限扭矩之和，闭口薄壁截面的壁厚为管道壁厚减裂纹深度；开口薄壁截面的壁厚为裂纹的深度。推导了各种周向裂纹管在内压、轴力、扭矩及非对称弯矩共同作用时的塑性极限载荷关系式，并由此给出其他一些组合变形时的极限载荷计算公式。本文结果可供管道安全评价时参考。     

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。     

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.     

小型桥壳液压胀形初始变形条件分析及成形试验

介绍了小型汽车桥壳的液压胀形工艺,提出了初始胀形内压的表达式,预测了初始胀形内压与轴向推力的匹配关系（即经向应力比的大小）对预胀形时各部分变形顺序的影响。在普通液压机上进行了两种加载路径下的液压胀形试验,在初始经向应力比小于零并保持恒内压的条件下,预胀形管坯先变形成两侧高、中部低的双鼓形,经增压后将中部胀起;在初始经向应力比大于零且内压恒定的条件下,预胀形管坯中部沿轴向胀裂;两种加载路径下,管坯扁锥体凸起与胀形区之间均产生了明显内凹缺陷。理论分析与试验结果均表明,初始变形条件对小型桥壳的预胀形有重要影响。     

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.