FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF METAL TUBES HYDRAULIC BULGING PROCESS
Keywords:
Bulge forming, ube-bulging, hydroforming, bellows, finite element (FE) analysis, simulationAbstract
Finite element analysis of hydraulic bulging for metal tubes was performed to investigate the effect of varying process parameters on the internal pressure needed. The effects tube thickness, tube materials and the number of bulges on the internal pressure needed, deformation, stresses and tube thinning were determined. The aluminium and steel tubes with 2 mm and 4 mm thickness by using one and two bulges were studied. The results showed that the 4 mm-thick tube could withstand an internal pressure varying from 425% to 481.4% more when compared with the 2 mm-thick tube. Furthermore, the steel tube could withstand an internal pressure varying from 163.8% to 192.1% when compared with the aluminium tube. Finally, the increase of the number of bulges resulted in a small change varying from 0% to 3.1% when compared with the one bulge tube.
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