To improve the forming quality and forming limit of the numerical control (NC) bending of high-pressure titanium alloy tubes, in this study, using three-dimensional (3D) finite element method, deformation behavior of medium-strength TA18 high-pressure tubes during NC bending with different bending radii is investigated. The results show that the cross-sectional deformation and the wall thickness variation during NC bending of TA18 tubes using a small bending radius (less than 2 times of tube outside diameter) are clearly different from that using a normal bending radius (between 2 and 4 times of tube outside diameter). For bending with a normal bending radius, with or without a mandrel, the distribution of the flattening in the bending area resembles a platform and an asymmetric parabola, respectively. For bending with a small bending radius, with or without a mandrel, the flattening both distributes like a parabola, but the former has a stable peak which deflects toward the initial bending section, and the latter has a more pronounced peak with a bending angle and deflects slightly toward the bending section. The wall thickness variations with a normal bending radius, with and without a mandrel, both resemble a platform when the bending angle exceeds a certain angle. For the bending with a small radius, the distribution of the wall thickness variation without a mandrel follows an approximate parabola which increases in value as the bending angle increases. If a mandrel is used, the thickening ratio increases from the initial bending section to the bending section.
With the implementation of environmental protection, sustainable development and conservation-oriented policies, components and parts of thin-walled welded tubes have gained increasing application in the aircraft and automotive industries because of their advantages: easily achieving forming and manufacturing process at low cost and in a short time. The current research on welded tube plastic forming is mainly concentrated on tube internal high-pressure forming, tube bending forming, and tube spinning forming. The focuses are on the material properties and characterization of welded tubes, finite element modeling for welded tube forming, and inhomogeneous deformation behavior and the mechanism and rules of deformation coordination in welded tube plastic forming. This paper summarizes the research progress in welded tube plastic forming from these aspects. Finally, with a focus on the urgent demand of the aviation, aerospace and automotive industries for high-strength and light-weight tubes, this paper discusses the development trends and challenges in the theory and technology of welded tube plastic forming in the future. Among them,laser tailor-welded technology will find application in the manufacture of high-strength steel tubes.Tube-end forming technology, such as tube flaring and flanging technology, will expand its application in welded tubes. Therefore, future studies will focus on the FE modeling regarding how to consider effects of welding on residual stresses, welding distortions and microstructure, the inhomogeneous deformation and coordination mechanism of the plastic forming process of tailor-welded tubes, and some end-forming processes of welded tubes, and more comprehensive research on the forming mechanism and limit of welded tubes.
