Explorative study of tandem skew rolling process for producing seamless steel tubes

Abstract

The tandem skew rolling (TSR) process is a new metal forming technique for producing seamless steel tubes of various dimensions. In this paper, the overall details of the TSR process are described and the important process parameters that control the TSR process are systematically discussed. A new experimental method, developed under laboratory conditions, showed that the TSR process can produce seamless steel tubes with high manufacturing quality. Numerical simulations of the TSR process were carried out using commercially available FEM software (Deform) to show the stress, strain, and temperature distributions in the rolled tubes. In addition, the variation of forces and rolling torques during the process are analyzed. Based on the experimental and numerical investigations, the TSR technique has been found to be a viable process for enhancing the quality and productivity of formed tubular products.