Pipe joining by mechanical conformation in thin sheets with rotary locking via a notch

Abstract

Thin-walled metal tubes used in various commercial products and use welding joints or mechanical joints. The process is expensive and laborious, due to the dissimilarity of the materials, an increase in the weight and costs of the components of the joints. Methodology for joining tubes in AISI 1006 steel with seam and thin wall by cold forming is presented with the use of metal plates with notches to prevent the rotation of the structure. The notch tension in the plate was numerically dimensioned to analyze the stresses when rotating efforts at the joint. Environmentally friendly ester-based lubrication was used. The numerical study of the junction was performed in the Abaqus software using the Finite Element Method. Hardness tests, microstructure of the tube region were performed for an analysis of the variation of the mechanical property in the material due to the mechanical deformation imposed during the process. The projected junction proved to be effective and has industrial applications in stairs, gym equipment, scaffolding, among others.