Ultrasonic Tube Hydroforming

Tube hydroforming is mainly used for automotive§applications, aircraft industries and household§appliances. Its main advantages are: part§consolidation, weight reduction, fewer secondary§operations, and tighter tolerances. However, tube§hydroforming is a complex process involving the§interaction of many variables such as loading paths,§material formability, and tribological conditions.§Improvement of formability, which is defined as the§amount of stretch or deformation without any failure§during the process, is extremely important since it§controls the applicability of the process. §This monograph presents ultrasonic technology as a§method of improving formability and tribological§conditions. Some issues addressed in this monograph§are: understanding the mechanics of deformation in§tube hydroforming and identifying the variables that§influence formability, developing an analytical model§for the deformation mechanism for both classical and§ultrasonic tube hydroforming, and establishing§evaluation criteria for quantifying the improvement§in formability when ultrasonic vibrations are§superimposed.