A theoretical model of the shrinking metal tubes. (August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, YuZhe; Qiu, XinMing
• Is Part Of: International journal of mechanical sciences. Volume 144(2018)
• Page Start: 564
• Page End: 575
• Publication Date: 2018-08
• Subjects: Shrinking tube -- Energy absorption -- Plastic dissipation -- Theoretical model -- Die radius; Mechanical engineering -- Periodicals; Génie mécanique -- Périodiques; Mechanical engineering; Maschinenbau; Mechanik; Zeitschrift; Periodicals; 621.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmecsci.2018.06.019
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0020-7403

Abstract

Highlights: A theoretical model is proposed for the shrinking metal circular tubes. Shrinking tubes are classified into 3 deformation modes, according to tube geometry and die radius. The predictions of steady compressional force and the tube radius after shrinking are obtained. Predictions by current model agree well with finite element simulations and experimental data. Current model gives accurate predications for shrinking tube of a wide range of parameters. Abstract: In this paper, a theoretical model of the shrinking metal tube is proposed. According to the relation between the actual die radius and the critical die radius decided by the tube and the conical die angle, the deformation is classified into three modes. Then, the published experimental data are used to validate the theoretical model. Within a large range of geometry parameters, numerical simulations are performed to confirm the applicable range of the current model. It is found that the compressional force, the final reduced radius and the equivalent plastic strain predicted are close to the simulation results for the conical angle smaller than 40° and radius-thickness ratio larger than 10. From the simulation results, several factors such as friction, dynamic effect, unsteady deformation stages, conical angle are analyzed. By comparing the tube shrinking and expansion, the energy absorption ability of shrinking tube is higher than expansion with the same deformation ratio. In the end, an optimization to maximize the specific energy absorption (SEA) is given for the shrinking tube. Graphical abstract: Image, graphical abstract