Journal of

Materials
Processing
Technology
ELSEVIER

Liquid-Bulge-Forming

J. Mater. Process. Technol. 45 (1994) 377-382

as a Flexible Production Method

Fritz Dohmann and Christoph Hartl

Laboratorium mr Umformende Fertigungsverfahren, Universit~t-GH Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany
This paper represents the structure of a flexible tool system for internal high-pressure metal forming,
together with the forming possibilities that it opens up and looks into the results of studies that shows the
applicability of the system.
tube ends and introduce axial compressive
stresses into the tube wall and also serve to
transport tube material into the forming zone

1. INTRODUCTION

Internal high-pressure forming is the general

term used for processes that involve the forming of
tubular workpieces with the support of active media
/1/. The internal high-pressure forming processes
employed today take in the operations of expanding,
displacement and calibration (Fig. 1)/1/. All these
processes are based on the same forming principle,
i.e. the alignment of a tube to the inside surface of a
surrounding profile tool, under the simultaneous
action of external mechanical loading and a
hydrostatic internal pressure.
EPANSON

CAUBRAT ON

tn,
DISPLACEMENT

A-B

~Fw~

Fw2
Figure 1. Process types
The forming principle requires the following
forces to act:
-

the closing forces Fs with which the tool is

closed

the forming forces Fu, which act mainly on the

the die forces Fw, which can act perpendicular

to the tube wall, although also on elements

branching off the workpiece.

The internal pressure Pi is generated in a
pressure intensifier which is generally connected to
the inside of the tube by a hole in the male die.
The forming result is determined by the
combined action of the forming forces, the die
forces and the internal pressure/2/. These, together
with the starting parameters of the tube, are
designated the process parameters. They have to be
applied selectively as a function of the forming
result required/3/.
The fields of application for internal highpressure forming include the production of
lightweight components for drive and chassis
engineering, exhaust system engineering and fitting
production/4/. The product range in these fields is
subject to the general trend that is currently
prevailing in product design, i.e. to a reduction in
the volume of identical-geometry parts being
produced in favour of a broader range of variants.
Hence, flexible process application is a key issue
when it comes to internal high-pressure forming
too.
2. APPROACHES TO G R E A T E R

FLEXIBILITY
There are two different approaches that can be
adopted in order to make the process more flexible:

0924-0136/94/$07.00 1994 - Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

SSDI 0924-0136(94)00211-8

378

influencing the forming result through the way

in which the process parameters are controlled

dividing up part of the profile die into

segments, which can then be driven separately.
This would seem to be a practicable approach,
since the loads on the die are comparatively low
for a large number of process applications.

The present paper shows how the latter

approach can be implemented in a flexible die
system. This is illustrated in Fig. 2 for the process
type "expanding". The profile die is made up of six
profile die segments, each t00 mm in height, which
can be moved 30 mm in the radial direction by
means of hydraulic drives, with a supporting force
of 100 kN. A forming force of 1000 kN can be
applied, and the pressure intensifier will pernut
internal pressures of up to 2000 bar to be achieved+
The die closing force is 1000 kN. This makes it
possible to form thin-walled tubes in steel or
aluminium with an outside diameter of up to
80 mm.
PROCESS

1 EXPANSION

TYPES

2 DtSPLACEMEN T 5 REDUCT'ON

KOMBINATION
OF 1, 2 AND 5

supported regions develop between the segments

when the tube is expanded, and these are not
allowed to exceed a critical value. By swivelling the
segments, it is possible to bring these regions into
contact with the die again for the ncxi forming
operation.
3.

ATTAINABLE

The workpiece shapes thal can be produced are

shown in Fig. 3. These cross-sections can be
attained through the directional, radial movement of
the segments, coordinated with the movements of
the male die and the internal pressure control,
which is proportional to this. This then gives rise to
process variants involving expansion, reduction and
displacement operations on the tube wall. B~
combining the principles referred to, it is possible to
produce more complex workpiece shapes as well
During the expansion process, the lube wall is
pressed against the radially adjustable die segments+
Round, oval, square and polygonal cross-sections
then result as a function of the particular position of
the segments in the expansion region and the
segment shape. These cross-sections are not
necessarily concentric to the longitudinal axis of the
starting tube. It is also possible to achieve partial
expansion of the tube, with different cross-sections
in the expanded parts.

~ Fu
o

SHAPES

WORKP1ECE

CROSS

/'f---~

RQTATIONALLY
SYMMETRICAL

bJ

SECTION

AXIALLY
SYMMETRICAL

LtNSYMMETRICAi

0,##

,I
i' /

]
f

//

~
/ Fu

c HYDRAULIC DRIVERS
d LOWER DIE
e SEGMENTS
f MALE DIE

Figure 2. The flexible die system

Figure 3. Sample workpieces
In addition to this, the die with the adjustable
segments can be swivelled around the central ~nis of
the tube. This movement is necessary because non-

During displacement, a section of tube is

displaced in parallel to its starting position through

379

a segment movement perpendicular to the

longitudinal axis of the tube. The cross-section of
the tube can be either increased through the action
of the internal pressure, or reduced through the
radial movement of the segments. The shape of the
die segments and the forming displacement that
they permit makes it possible to achieve stepped and
curved workpiece geometries in the longitudinal
direction. The displacement of these workpieces
will then permit a transition to tube bending under
internal pressure.

finite element method in order to establish when the

tube becomes pushed inwards. These are set out for
different ratios of expansion diameter to starting
diameter, dl/do, and for different loads exerted by
F u and Pi. It is seen that the critical value of the
forming force falls as dl/d 0 increases. The
experimentally determined failure cases show good
agreement with the calculated values. The finite
element method can thus suitably be used for
establishing this process limit in other wall
thickness to diameter ratio ranges, so~do, as well.
600.

The circumference of the starting tube can be

reduced to a certain extent through the radial
movement of the segments towards the centre of the
tube. If the tube wall comes into contact with
appropriately-shaped segment surfaces, it is possible
to achieve round, stepped or conical cross-sections,
as well as oval, square, polygonal and nonconcentric ones.
By combining the three process variants, it is
possible to generate workpiece shapes that involve
individual sections of the tube being expanded,
reduced or displaced.

KN

PROCESS

LIMITS

There are restrictions on the shapes that can be

achieved through operations performed on the
flexible die system, due to failure through plastic
instabilities /1,2,5,6/. The instabilities that can be
caused by an excessive forming force F u include
collapsing, buckling and wrinkling of the tube in
the feed section and also the tube being pushed
inwards at the transition in cross-section with high
levels of expansion. The type of instability that
occurs with an excessive internal pressure pi
includes necking or the bursting of the workpiece
wall between the supporting die segments. The
process limits are a function of the:
-

starting parameters of the tube

process parameters

die geometry.

The tube is pushed inwards (Fig. 4) if the

forming force F u exceeds a critical value. Figure 4
shows the results of calculations performed with the

c)

F-100

_
CALCULATION
0 dl/d0 =1,7
[] dl/d0 =1,8
A dl/do =1,9

I
20

INTERNAL P R E S S U R E
4.

~Fo ~do=O,Oa

EXPERIMENT
dl/C~0 =1,76
dl/d0 =1,84
~ dl/do =1,94

--

I
40

Mpo

60

Pl "

Figure 4. Tube pushed inwards, as a limit on the

process
Calculating the necking and bursting with the
finite element method, by contrast, involves a
considerably higher outlay. According to /8/, the
effective strain ev that is necessary to bring about
necking in a tube under internal pressure and axial
load can be calculated in the following manner
using the stress ratio ~ of the axial stress o z to the
tangential stress a t and the strain-hardening
exponent n:
cv = n 2 ~ - ~ + l

(1)

If the experimental failure cases are set against

the values from Eqn. (1), then it can be seen, as in
Fig. 5, that these lie above the calculated curve.
This is due to the simplification introduced in/8/,
which involves the assumption of a constant stress
ratio ~ during the forming operation. This constant
stress ratio is not guaranteed in the experiment.

380

0,5

This second type of process control system is

employed if borderline values have to be achieved
with the process control, such as the maximum wall
thickness. This is illustrated in Fig. 6 with the
example of step-by-step rotationally-symmetric
expansion.

0,4

z0,3

<

o~ 0 , 2

O
80C)

U0,1

MATERIAL
ST50 AL
: N

-0,5
STRESS" RATIO

i?, ,

0
~ : az/~

S FLP

dl'i/an

i= 1

134

I B4

I
~dC)

d,* i, ( ~ T{:R~A CT

------"

:]:;

;j

rl 7

rE

-~-

2?
(

,2
C.
L

Figure 5. Bursting as a limit on the process

Wrinkling and buckling can be prevented by
increasing the internal pressure which supports the
tube from the inside. The level of internal pressure
required to do this, Pimin, can be roughly
calculated as follows/9/:
Pi rain = 2k f (s 1 / f ) 2

2C
o

I:

200
N~, ERNA[

400
PRES ~t It;

bqr
=,-

~(

(2)
Figure 6, Process control for step-by-step expansion

with the yield stress k/; the wall thickness s 1 and the
wrinkle height, f The wrinkle height can be
established from the work conducted by /10/, for
instance.
5. PROCESS

CONTROL

The functions of process control are

avoidance of failure cases
attainment of the forming result set out in the
design specifications
The process control system takes in the
quantitative correlations that exist between the
forming forces and the internal pressure, as well as
any die forces that may prevail. Process control can
be performed by adjusting the process parameters as
a function of the forming displacement
(displacement-controlled system) or by adjusting the
force and the action of the pressure on the basis of
the
process
limits
(force/pressure-controlled
system).

The aim here is to determine the highest level of

forming that is possible, taking as the basis the
maximum internal pressure that can be applied,
with the aid of the degree of forming according to
Eqn. (1). Failure through collapsing is prevented in
this case, since the tube wall comes to rest on the
segments after just a small forming displacement.
The fact of the tube coming to rest on the segments
makes it possible for higher axial forces to be
applied than in conventional expansion processes.
Providing that the maximum degree of forming
is observed, a good forming result is obtained. This
is illustrated by the cross-section shown in Fig. 7.
A further example is the process control t"oi
displacement. The tube is subjected to an axial force
and to internal pressure, which satisfy the flow
condition. The displacing operation is then
performed by means of a segment being moved in
the radial direction At the same time, the opposite
side of the tube is supported by a second segment in

381

order to prevent the tube from bursting at that point.

It is important to ensure that the movement of the
two segments is synchronised by the machine
control system.

tubes in St 30 AI with a ratio of so/d O = 0,05 and

also AI Mg Si 0.5 tubes that have been displaced,
with a ratio of sold 0 = 0,08.
E
I

MEASURING POINTS
r

4-7Jrmm
~

o7

OUTSIDE
DIAMETER

0.100

2 0,228

ll' I

I ~rllll

'NS'TE

I.D.
Figure8. Process simulation for the displacing
operation

MEDIUM
WALL THICKNESS

As far as rotationally-symmetric expansion is

concerned, the experiments have shown that, for the
tube in question, the form of process control
described permits a higher level of expansion to be
achieved, at dl/d 0 = 1,9, than is possible with the
single-stage expansion of conventional processes,
where a ratio of only dl/d 0 = 1,6 is attained. Oval
expansion was studied with ratios of up to 1,6 for
the large cross-section to the diameter and with
ratios of up to 1,45 for the large cross-section to the
small one. For the displacing operation, tests were
conducted for a displacement of up to 0,5.d0.

Figure 7. Expanded cross-section

The development of a process control system can
be verified by the finite element method. Figure 8
shows the example of one of the forming stages.
6. SELECTED STUDY RESULTS
The investigations carried out with the flexible
die system were first performed on simple shapes. A
number of the results of these are set out in
Fig. 9 a-c. What is shown are the rotationallysymmetric expansion and the oval expansion of

Figure9.a Experimental results, expanding

rotationally cross section

of

382

Dohmann, F.; Bieling, P.: Werkzeugparameter

und ProzeMaten beim aufweitenden Innenlaochdrucloamformen. Umformtechnik 26 (1992) 1~
S.23-31.
Dohmann, F.; Dudziak, K.-U.; Bau yon Werkzeugen und Maschinen zum Innenhochdruckumformen. B~nder Bleche Rohre 8 (199 ] ), S.
19-29.
Figure 9.b Experimental results, expanding of oval
cross section

Klaas, F, Kaehler, K.: Herstellung innovativer

Hohlteilformen mit den InnenhochdruckVeffahren. In: HFF-Berichte, Nr.12, Umfonntechnisches Kolloquium Hannover, 17 / 18. Marz
1993, S. 9/1-9/10.
Dohmann, F.; BOhm, A.; Dudziak, K.-U,: The
shaping of hollow shaft-shaped workpieces by
liquid bulge forming. In: Advanced Technolog)
of Plasticity 1993, Proc. of the fourth Int. Con
on Technology of Plasticity, Beijing, China 5./9
Septl 1993, S.447-452.

Figure 9.c Experimental results, displacement

7. CONCLUSION AND PROSPECTS
Employed in conjunction with a flexible die
system, the principle of internal high-pressure
forming permits flexible and cost-efficient
production of a large number of different-shaped
hollow workpieces and lightweight components for
industrial applications.
This paper has presented a concept for a flexible
die system and has set out the requirements that are
placed on the die system, the forming machine and
the control facilities. The sample industrial
applications referred to serve to underline the
importance of this particular technology.
REFERENCES
Dohmann, F.: Innenhochdruckumformen. In:
Umformtechnik, K. Lange (Hrsg.), Bd.4,
2.Aufl., Springer Verlag, Berlin u.a., 1993, S.
253-270.

Dohmann, F.; Hartl, Ch.: M6glichkeiten der

Innenhochdruckumformung unter besonderer
Beachtung des Formens yon Strangprel3profilen.
Tagungsband: Neuere Entwicklungen in der
Massivumformung, 8./9..Iuni 1993, Fellbach bei
Stuttg., 1993, S. 255-279
Dohmann, F.; BOhm, A : Bedeutung der ProzeBsimulation ftir das Innenhochdruckumformen
yon Leichtbauwerkstiicken. B~indcr Blcche
Rohre 33 (1992) 1, S.26-34
Mellor, P.B. :Tensile Instability in Thin-Walled
Tubes. Journal Mechanical Science Vol 4. No.3,
1962, S.251-256
Dohmann, F.; Hartl, Ch.: Prozefifiihrungen zum
flexiblen Innenhochdruckumformen
forthcoming in B~ader Bleche Rohre.
10 Geckeler, J.W.: Plastisches Knicken tier Wandung von Hotdzylindem und einige anderc
Falterscheinungen an Schalen und Blechen. Z. f.
angew. Math. u; Mech. 8 (1928) 5, S.341-35l~