Press cutting of thin-walled round pipe for producing curvilinear end

Abstract

In order to obtain a basic understanding of the unwanted distortions in the pipe wall during the press cutting process, the deformation of a thin-walled round pipe to form a curvilinear end was numerically and experimentally studied. Vector analysis was used to study the relationship between the punch shape and the collapse of the cut-end. Stamping experiments on AISI 1020 steel pipe were conducted using different angles α and β defining the shape of the punch. The elasto-plastic finite element method that allows consideration of a ductile fracture was also employed to study the process. The results show that the deformation of the pipe end after press cutting is influenced mostly by the shape of the punch. A satisfactory quality of the curvilinear end of the pipe can be obtained if the appropriate geometric parameters of the punch are chosen. The pipe-wall collapse in the upper part of the section is decreased when α and β increase. The recommended values for α and β lie within 30°–50°. The hole on the underside of the punch has less influence on the quality of the cut-end, and the wall distortion and the generation of burr on the cut-end can be satisfactorily simulated using the fracture criterion of Brozzo or the normalized criterion of Cockcroft and Latham.