Analysis of tube bulge forming in an open die considering anisotropic effects of the tubular material

Abstract

In this paper, a mathematical model considering the anisotropic effects of the tubular material was proposed to examine the plastic deformation behavior of a thin-walled tube during bulge forming processes in an open die. In the formulation of this mathematical model, the forming tube is considered as an ellipsoidal surface. Non-uniform thinning in the free-bulged region and sticking friction between the tube and die are also considered. In this analytical model, Hill's orthogonal anisotropic theory was adopted for deriving the effective stress and effective strain under a bi-axial stress state. The effects of the anisotropic values on the forming pressure and maximum bulge height were discussed. Experiments of bulge forming using annealed A6011 aluminum tubes were conducted. The analytical results of forming pressure were compared with the finite element simulations and the experimental data. The validity of this newly proposed model was verified.