Abstract (EN):
In the present paper, developments in numerical simulation of the hydroforming process of tubular components, tailor-welded before forming, are shown. Both technologies, tailor-welded joining operations and hydroforming processes, are well known in industry, although being usually used separately. Tailor-welded joining operations are usually encountered in plain sheets, subsequently formed by stamping. Tube hydroforming processing, on the other hand, is frequently associated to parts consisting of uniform thickness, material properties and dimensions. Proposing the study and numerical simulation of the joined manufacture process of hydroforming over tailor-welded tubes, the analysis focus on the influence of process parameters, such as the position of the weld-line and initial thickness values, in the overall process, and accounting for distinct thickness values. Particular attention is posed on the relation of imposed displacement vs. imposed hydraulic pressure into the tube to be formed. Another point of practical interest is the numerical simulation and prediction of the weld-line movement after forming. The Finite Element Method is employed with innovative solid elements well suited for incompressibility applications, included by the authors into the commercial program ABAQUS as user-elements. The obtained results can lead to a better understanding of the process of hydroforming of tailor-welded tubular parts, with dissimilar thickness.
Idioma:
Inglês
Tipo (Avaliação Docente):
Científica
Nº de páginas:
6