Experimental and numerical investigation of hydro-forming of stepped tubes for aluminum alloy 6063

Abstract

In this work, hydro-forming of stepped tubes for aluminum alloy 6063 is investigated experimentally and numerically. Experimental investigations are performed using a die set with new design in bush driving mechanism. Also, numerical simulations are done with finite element software, Abaqus 6.14-4. In the experiments, a new mechanism is proposed for production a stepped tube with sharp corners and high expansion ratio. Also, the effects of some process parameters such as internal pressure, die stroke and friction coefficient on filling of the die and also minimum wall thickness are investigated. The results show that using the proposed mechanism in this paper, a stepped tube with sharp corners and high expansion ratio can be manufactured. Also, it is concluded that better filling of the die is happened with an increase in the die stroke and internal pressure. Also, the reduction of wall thickness is increased with increasing the die stroke, internal pressure and friction coefficient.