2012 Volume 53 Issue 614 Pages 246-250
Extruded aluminum alloy sections are advanced materials composed of lightweight structural members. A secondary forming process such as bending is required when these materials are utilized for practical use. Some undesirable deformations such as flattening distortion, wrinkling and splitting occur during the bending process of light gauge tubes. Thus, the working limits for the shape and dimension of such sections are very important in designing lightweight constructions. In this study, a square tube, a square tube with a lateral direction rib, a square tube with a radial direction rib, an asymmetric channel, a hat channel and a channel were used in rotary draw bending with axial tension. Mandrels were selected to match the characteristics of the sections. The working limits for some thickness ratio and materials such as A6061S-O, A6061S-T6, A6063S-O and A6063S-T5 were introduced. This study shows that a working limit that depends on the type of cross section and on thickness ratio, and the application of axial tension to the draw bending of light gauge tubes are very effective in preventing wrinkling in rotary draw bending.
