MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF THE FORMING OF SQUARE CROSS SECTION HOLLOW PROFILES

Abstract

Steel alloys containing manganese and boron are increasingly being used in mechanical engineering, including automotive and agricultural sectors. Products of critical application made from such steels, including hollow ones, have a high level of mechanical properties, surface hardness, and wear resistance. These products are obtained by profiling of previously electrically welded round pipes with a hot sheet stamping or pressure treatment (drawing, cold rolling, stamping). Technological parameters of combined processing methods are often determined by the results of experimental research, which, due to the complexity and cost of materials, leads to significant expenses. The application of mathematical modeling can reduce the number of experiments and forecast the quality of finished products. The research focuses on investigating the possibility of obtaining square hollow profiles by means of push-pulling through one stand of a pipe welding unit and defining the requirements for geometric parameters of the billet. Using the FEM finite elements method with QForm software, a model of the process of square hollow profiles forming in by pushing a non-driven four-roll stand was created. The possibility of providing a stable process at different values of the thickness of the billet is shown. It was determined that with an increase in the D/S (diameter/wall thickness) index of the billet for 19MnB4 steel hollow profiles, there is a reducing of pushing force. The obtained data described by an equation that can be used in engineering calculations. With an increase in the D/S index of the billet for 19MnB4 steel hollow profiles, there is reducing of the relative wall thickening in the corner zones and increasing of the convexity of the profile sides.