Abstract
To lighten and stiffen the structural components used in automobile bodies, the variable curvature local-induction-heating bending forming (VC-LIHBF) technology was developed. However, few studies have been conducted on the optimization of the structural and geometric parameters of the inductor and the parameters of the LIHBF process. This paper focuses on the improvement of the cross-sectional distortion and the forming limit of the thin-walled rectangular steel tubes (TWRSTs) without the mandrel support. In this work, a coupled thermo-mechanical finite element analysis (FEA) method is developed to investigate the structural and geometric parameters of the inductor and the deformation behavior during VC-LIHBF. The temperature distribution is calculated by the electromagnetic and heat transfer analysis, and the stress distribution is obtained by the deformation analysis. Experiments were carried out to validate the reliability of the proposed finite element model (FEM). The results indicate that the forming quality of the TWRST is significantly affected by the structural and geometric parameters of the inductor, the feed rate of the tube, the push speed of the bending roller and the distance between the inductor and the bending roller. The appropriate inductor and process parameters for a B1500HS TWRST were determined. The findings of this study may provide important guidance for practical manufacturing via the LIHBF process.
Highlights
The findings of this study provide a better cognition for the cross-sectional deformation and wrinkling of a rectangular tube in the local-induction-heating bending forming (LIHBF) process
The structure of the inductor has a major influence on the temperature distribution of the thin-walled rectangular steel tubes (TWRSTs) and the heating efficiency
A rectangular single-turn inductor was used in the LIHBF process of the TWRST
Summary
To improve both energy efficiency and crash safety, the automotive industry has been focusing on the application of high-strength structures to lighten vehicles in recent years. The local-induction-heating bending forming (LIHBF) and direct quench processing technologies for tube manufacturing, which are inexpensive, highly efficient and yield higher-quality products [1,2], have been developed for these two reasons. The production of automobile components with ultra-high tensile strength and a hollow tubular structure has become one of the frontier fields in the research and development of advanced plastic forming technology [3]. Scholars have focused on the LIHBF process for the manufacturing of thick-walled and large-diameter tubes [4,5,6,7], but little attention has been paid to the use of the LIHBF process to manufacture thin-walled tubes, to the variable curvature LIHBF (VC-LIHBF) process for manufacturing of thin-walled rectangular steel tubes (TWRSTs)
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