Investigation on tube end forming behaviour of AA6061 alloy

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ABSTRACT

End formed components are generally used at various interconnecting elements, exhaust system of machines, fuel pipes etc. In this paper AA6061 alloy has been considered to analyse the tube end behaviour by performing the experimental and simulation studies. Simulations are performed by DEFORM-3D software. The process parameters considered are r_p/r₀ ratios (1.39, 1.53 and 1.67), the forming angle (α) of the punch (15°, 30° and 45°) and the thickness of tube is 2 mm. The experimental and simulation results almost following the same path. The formability values are more for the process parameters r_p/r₀ ratio is 1.39 and die cone angle 45°. This die is used for the further studies. The stress, strain and thickness distribution along the contact surface between tube and punch analysed and reported. The simulations revealed that the maximum stress induced at the tip of the tube and this will cause to initiate the crack. Thickness measurement was done along the tube wall from tip of the deformed tube to undeformed tube. The minimum thickness found as 1.456 mm at the tip of the tube, this is the maximum reduction of tube while forming.

KEYWORDS:

• End forming
• expansion
• FEM
• simulations
• 6061 alloy tubes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).