Effect of boundary conditions of cylindrical shells on stabilisation of tube compression by viscous pressure forming

Abstract

As a result of compression instability, buckling and wrinkling easily occur in the tube‐compression process, especially for thin‐walled parts, which restricts the application of tube compression. Investigation of the effects of boundary conditions of cylindrical shells on the stabilisation of tube compression by viscous pressure forming (VPF) is very important. In this article, the stress of the cylindrical shell under different boundary conditions is examined. Subsequently, using the ANSYS Academic Research code for elastic–plastic deformation of cylindrical shells under different boundary conditions, the distributions of stress and strain and the post‐buckling paths for the cylindrical shell are investigated. The results show that wrinkling in the tube‐compression process by VPF can be removed when the ends of the cylindrical shells are confined. Finally, the finite element results are compared with the experimental results and confirm the validity of the technique and its use for design purposes.

Keywords:

• Tube‐compression
• Viscous pressure forming (VPF)
• Cylindrical shell
• Post‐buckling path
• Boundary condition