CAREER: Meso and Macro Hydroforming of Complex Shapes - Mechanics and Control

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The overall objective of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) research is to understand the fundamental mechanics of hydroforming of tubular components at different scale levels (meso and macro) and establish fundamentals to enable manufacturing of complex macro and miniature (meso-scale) tubular components. In tube hydroforming a tubular preform is placed between two die halves, the tubular preform is internally pressurized by fluid while the tube ends are fed or pushed axially towards the center of the die cavity. The approach to achieve the objectives will be studying the characteristics pertaining to fluid-pressure loading and feeding of material through analytical modeling, numerical, and experimentation. As the evolution of tubular surface during deformation and material formability are critical to the success of the process, non-conventional loading paths will be investigated, i.e., step-wise feeding of material, vibration pressure loading conditions, and dual pressure loading. Schemes for optimizing both meso and macro hydroforming processes will be developed such that in addition to obtaining a sound hydroformed part, the tribological conditions are enhanced. The fundamentals established from this study are expected to open new avenues for hydroforming of complex thin hollow sections, ultra-thin sections, and miniature parts with potential impact in automotive and electronic industries. The knowledge will also be of significant value to U.S. companies interested in developing effective hydroforming machine systems at a meso scale level which are non-existent at present, and will raise opportunities for new system designs of hollow structures. Research findings will be incorporated into university courses and dissemination through seminars, conferences, and journal articles. One of the main goals of this project is to promote interinstitutional research and educational collaboration at the international level. Thus, a partial interinstitutional manufacturing course linked to two universities from Japan and Denmark will be introduced. It is expected that this course will provide opportunities for knowledge enhancement and prepare students to assume responsibilities in multinational corporations under the global economy.