PROCESS PARAMETER ANALYSIS OF HIGHER D/T RATIO TUBE FORMED FROM SHEET HYDROFORMING

As a core part of the aero engine casing, the thin-walled tube with large diameter usually formed by sheet hydroforming presents high forming precision and forming quality. In this paper, the appropriate hydraulic pressure and blank holder force should be identified to control the wall thickness uniformity of N08811 alloy tube with large diameter. Firstly, the stress-strain curve of this material at room temperature is obtained from deep drawing tests. Subsequently, within the allowable range of springback and wrinkling errors, finite element simulation and the uniform test design are performed to investigate the effect of the multi-level process parameters on the thickness uniformity of the higher D/t ratio tube. Results show that the blank holder force and the hydraulic pressure produce significant effects on the wall thickness uniformity. Finally, the regression analysis is further carried out for the computational results from uniform experimental design experiments. The optimized process parameters are then obtained and the wall thickness uniformity of the tube is improved. These results provide a theoretical reference for improving the forming quality of thin-walled tube with large diameter.