Characteristics Of Thin-walled Tubes Research Articles

Energy absorption characteristics of multi-cell tubes with different cross-sectional shapes under quasi-static axial crushing

Energy absorption characteristics of polygonal multi-cell tubes with different cross-sectional shapes under quasi-static axial crushing are investigated systematically. Based on the SSFE theory and CE method, theoretical models for predicting mean crushing force of tubes are proposed, and theoretical expressions of normalized mean crushing force (NFm) and normalized special energy absorption (NSEA) of tubes are derived. Numerical models for predicting the energy absorption characteristics also are established using the software ABAQUS/Explicit. The results of theoretical predictions and numerical simulations about 36 design conditions are in good agreement with experimental results those obtained by previous authors. Adding inner panels can improve the energy absorption characteristics of thin-walled tubes. And adding Cross-type inner panels in S, H and O single-cell tubes has more remarkable improvement than that of adding X-type and Y-type inner panels. The NFm increases with the increase of wide-thickness ratio, and NSEA decreases with the increase of wide-thickness ratio.

Extrusion Characteristics of Thin Walled Tubes for Catheters Using Thermoplastic Elastomer.

As the market for minimally invasive surgery has grown, the demand for high-precision and high-performance catheters has increased. Catheters for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease mainly use a braided wire tube with a polymer inner liner and outer jacket to improve the pushability and trackability. The outer jacket should have an accurate inner and outer diameter and while maintaining a wall thickness of 150 µm or less. In this study, we designed and manufactured a tip and die capable of extruding an outer jacket with a wall thickness of 150 µm or less using a medical thermoplastic elastomer for manufacturing 8Fr (2.64 mm diameter) thin-walled tubes. The ovality and inner/outer diameters of the tube were studied according to changes in the screw speed (mass flow rate), puller speed, air pressure applied to the lumen, and distance between the quench and head, which are the main variables of microextrusion processes. The screw speed (mass flow rate), puller speed, and air pressure affected the inner/outer diameter of the tube, with screw speed and puller speed having the largest influence on diameter. The air pressure and distance between quench and head had the greatest influence on ovality. The results show the effect of different processing parameters on the characteristics of the extruded tube, which will help to establish a stable extrusion process for the manufacture of outer jackets for braided catheter shafts.

The Rapid Detection Technology of Lamb Wave for Microcracks in Thin-Walled Tubes

Thin-walled tubes are a kind of pressure vessel formed by a stamping and drawing process, which must withstand a great deal of sudden pressure during use. When microcrack defects of a certain depth are present on its inner and outer surfaces, severe safety accidents may occur, such as cracking and crushing. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out nondestructive testing of thin-walled tubes in the production process to eliminate the potential safety hazards. To realize the rapid detection of microcracks in thin-walled tubes, this study could be summarized as follows: (i) Because the diameters of the thin-walled tubes were much larger than their thicknesses, Lamb wave characteristics of plates with equal thicknesses were used to approximate the dispersion characteristics of thin-walled tubes. (ii) To study the dispersion characteristics of Lamb waves in thin plates, the detection method of the mode was determined using the particle displacement–amplitude curve. (iii) Using a multi-channel parallel detection method, rapid detection equipment for Lamb wave microcracks in thin-walled tubes was developed. (iv) The filtering peak values for defect signal detection with different depths showed that the defect detection peak values could reflect the defect depth information. (v) According to the minimum defect standard of a 0.045-mm depth, 100,000 thin-walled tubes were tested. The results showed that the missed detection rate was 0%, the reject rate was 0.3%, and the detection speed was 5.8 s/piece, which fully meets the actual detection requirements of production lines. Therefore, this study not only solved the practical issues for the rapid detection of microcracks in thin-walled tubes but also provided a reference for the application of ultrasonic technology for the detection of other components.