Numerical simulation of the magnetic pressure in tube electromagnetic bulging

Electromagnetic forming is a kind of high energy rate forming; in which magnetic pressure analysis is the foundation of theoretical analysis. Usually equivalent methods are used to resolve any problems, but because of the limitations of the calculation methods, only the average force which acts on the workpiece can be obtained. Especially, the tolerances at the end of the workpiece are higher, which results in great difficulties in the deformation analysis of the workpiece. This paper carries out a numerical simulation of the magnetic pressure acting on the workpiece during electromagnetic bulge forming by use of the FEA software ANSYS. The boundary conditions of the analysis model are established on the basis of theoretical analysis of the magnetic field properties. Through measuring the magnetic induction intensity between the coil and the workpiece, the simulative results are proven to be accurate. This is the first time that the magnetic pressure distribution in the thickness direction of the workpiece has been explored through FEM. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.