Dr. Ghafoor Khodayari

It is well-known that tube has become an important material for hydroforming hollow components. The increasing complexity of product structures, particularly in the automotive industry, often requires one or more forming operations before a tube actually is hydroformed. Prebending is one of these forming processes used to prepare tubes for the so-called prebent tube hydroforming.

Comparing and correlating two tests, a common bench test (twist compression) and a straight-tube corner-fill test, simulate hydroforming to find the coefficient of friction.

The bending characteristics of a tube depend on the material it is made of. Exceeding the allowable limits of this deformation results in unusable parts. The author relates his company's examination and comparison of the bending of two different seamless, extruded tubes: aluminum alloy and steel.