Experimental Investigation of the Rubber-Filled Tubes in the Tube Inversion Process

Abstract

In this paper, the effects of the fillers in the rubber-filled circular tubes are investigated during the inversion process of the tubes under the axial loading, experimentally. For this purpose, a comparison between the experimental results of the empty and rubber filled circular tubes was performed. The inversion tests were carried out on the rubber-filled and empty brazen circular tubes. A pair of die and punch was prepared as the fixtures. All the inversion tests are performed under quasi-static axial loading. The experimental results of the filled tubes show a considerable increase in the energy absorption and the axial force comparing with the empty tubes, during the tube inversion process. The filler material in the circular tubes was supplied from the wastage of the tire producer companies. This is one of the best applications of the tire wastage that has good environmental and economical advantages. The tire wastage filled-tubes are introduced as a good energy absorber that can be used in the energy absorption mechanisms such as automobile bumpers, crashing barriers of roadsides, and aerospace.