Effect of Heat Treatment Conditions on Tube Hydroforming Characteristics of Aluminum Alloy

Abstract

Tube hydroforming is a metal forming technology that utilizes internal pressure and axial compressive loads to generate designed product shapes with complex sections from tubular materials. The tube hydroforming process has been used in the automotive, aircraft, and bicycle industries for many years. With the pursuit of lighter bicycles, aluminum alloys have been utilized as an alternative to steel. To obtain adequate strength, the aluminum alloys should undergo heat treatment processes before being used. However, the mechanical properties of the alloys vary with the tempering conditions. This paper aims to evaluate the effects of tube hydroforming characteristics on different kinds of tempered aluminum alloys. Based on numerical simulations, suitable tube hydroforming processing conditions for each tempered aluminum alloy are suggested.