Bending-hydraulic forming stainless steel thin-walled tube fittings wall thickness distribution law research

A study was conducted to examine the distribution of wall thickness in stainless steel thin-walled tube fittings during the forming process. The research included simulation and experimental analyses of the bending and hydroforming processes of these fittings used in a passenger car. The goal was to...

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Main Authors: Xinlong Zhang, Jiang Xiao, Xiaodong Xie, Zhaosong Jiang, Xueyan Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2025-05-01
Series:International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2588840425000137
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author Xinlong Zhang
Jiang Xiao
Xiaodong Xie
Zhaosong Jiang
Xueyan Liu
author_facet Xinlong Zhang
Jiang Xiao
Xiaodong Xie
Zhaosong Jiang
Xueyan Liu
author_sort Xinlong Zhang
collection DOAJ
description A study was conducted to examine the distribution of wall thickness in stainless steel thin-walled tube fittings during the forming process. The research included simulation and experimental analyses of the bending and hydroforming processes of these fittings used in a passenger car. The goal was to analyze how process parameters affect the distribution of wall thickness. Auto Form software was utilized to simulate the bending process and investigate the impact of relative bending radius (Relative bending radius for the tube fittings bending neutral layer of the ratio of the radius and diameter of the tube) on the wall thickness distribution. Subsequently, hydroforming simulations were performed under varying internal pressure loading conditions. The findings revealed that as the relative bending radius increased, both the maximum thinning rate and maximum thickening rate of the tube fittings gradually decreased. Based on the simulation outcomes, the optimal bending process parameters were determined to be a 62 mm initial tube diameter and a 95 mm bending radius. Through finite element simulations of hydroforming, internal pressures of 30 MPa, 40 MPa, and 50 MPa were compared, with 40 MPa identified as the optimal pressure for forming. The thin-walled tube fittings were then manufactured based on the optimal parameters obtained from the simulation, which were validated through experimentation. The experimental results closely matched the simulation results, with a maximum error margin of 2.27 %. The final formed parts met all requirements without any failures.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2588-8404
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
record_format Article
series International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture
spelling doaj-art-7bf8646a4b5f4bd79d64a78c2976d8c22025-08-20T03:53:56ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture2588-84042025-05-018340241410.1016/j.ijlmm.2025.02.004Bending-hydraulic forming stainless steel thin-walled tube fittings wall thickness distribution law researchXinlong Zhang0Jiang Xiao1Xiaodong Xie2Zhaosong Jiang3Xueyan Liu4Corresponding author.; College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, ChinaCollege of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, ChinaCollege of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, ChinaCollege of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, ChinaCollege of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, ChinaA study was conducted to examine the distribution of wall thickness in stainless steel thin-walled tube fittings during the forming process. The research included simulation and experimental analyses of the bending and hydroforming processes of these fittings used in a passenger car. The goal was to analyze how process parameters affect the distribution of wall thickness. Auto Form software was utilized to simulate the bending process and investigate the impact of relative bending radius (Relative bending radius for the tube fittings bending neutral layer of the ratio of the radius and diameter of the tube) on the wall thickness distribution. Subsequently, hydroforming simulations were performed under varying internal pressure loading conditions. The findings revealed that as the relative bending radius increased, both the maximum thinning rate and maximum thickening rate of the tube fittings gradually decreased. Based on the simulation outcomes, the optimal bending process parameters were determined to be a 62 mm initial tube diameter and a 95 mm bending radius. Through finite element simulations of hydroforming, internal pressures of 30 MPa, 40 MPa, and 50 MPa were compared, with 40 MPa identified as the optimal pressure for forming. The thin-walled tube fittings were then manufactured based on the optimal parameters obtained from the simulation, which were validated through experimentation. The experimental results closely matched the simulation results, with a maximum error margin of 2.27 %. The final formed parts met all requirements without any failures.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2588840425000137Bending processHydroformingRelative bending radiusLoaded internal pressureWall thickness distribution
spellingShingle Xinlong Zhang
Jiang Xiao
Xiaodong Xie
Zhaosong Jiang
Xueyan Liu
Bending-hydraulic forming stainless steel thin-walled tube fittings wall thickness distribution law research
International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture
Bending process
Hydroforming
Relative bending radius
Loaded internal pressure
Wall thickness distribution
title Bending-hydraulic forming stainless steel thin-walled tube fittings wall thickness distribution law research
title_full Bending-hydraulic forming stainless steel thin-walled tube fittings wall thickness distribution law research
title_fullStr Bending-hydraulic forming stainless steel thin-walled tube fittings wall thickness distribution law research
title_full_unstemmed Bending-hydraulic forming stainless steel thin-walled tube fittings wall thickness distribution law research
title_short Bending-hydraulic forming stainless steel thin-walled tube fittings wall thickness distribution law research
title_sort bending hydraulic forming stainless steel thin walled tube fittings wall thickness distribution law research
topic Bending process
Hydroforming
Relative bending radius
Loaded internal pressure
Wall thickness distribution
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2588840425000137
work_keys_str_mv AT xinlongzhang bendinghydraulicformingstainlesssteelthinwalledtubefittingswallthicknessdistributionlawresearch
AT jiangxiao bendinghydraulicformingstainlesssteelthinwalledtubefittingswallthicknessdistributionlawresearch
AT xiaodongxie bendinghydraulicformingstainlesssteelthinwalledtubefittingswallthicknessdistributionlawresearch
AT zhaosongjiang bendinghydraulicformingstainlesssteelthinwalledtubefittingswallthicknessdistributionlawresearch
AT xueyanliu bendinghydraulicformingstainlesssteelthinwalledtubefittingswallthicknessdistributionlawresearch