A NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS OF THIN-WALLED SQUARE TUBES.

C. Snyman, R. Laubscher

Rand Afrikaans University, South Africa.

This paper describes both an experimental and a finite element method investigation into the manufacturing process of square tubes. A non-linear finite element simulation of the complete tube cold forming manufacturing process is presented and compared with results obtained experimentally. The results indicate that non-linear finite element analysis may be successfully used to predict the final condition of the material along any point in the circumference of the tube. The results also indicate that the material properties of the virgin sheet used in the simulation plays an important role in the accuracy of the eventual results.

Keywords: cold forming, strain hardening, numerical analysis, 3CR12 square tubes.