Hydroformability of bulge forming light-weight tubes via micro-hardness dependence

To evaluate the hydroformablility of tubular components in the tube hydroforming (THF) process, the conventional method is to measure the deformed square or circle grids printed on the surface of the tubular parts. However, the reliability of those measured data is affected greatly by the grid size and its measurement method on the curved surface. It is well-known that material hardness varies under different plastic deformation conditions, especially before and after the forming process. And it is more convenient to obtain the Vickers' hardness values and distribution around the burst area of deformed components. This paper mainly presents an effective and reliable approach to evaluate the hydroformability of tubular components using micro-hardness measurement. At first, the Vickers' hardness values and distribution around the burst area of the deformed components were obtained. The plastic strain, together with its distribution in such an area could then be derived by the measured micro-hardness through the developed equations. As a result, it was found to be more suitable to evaluate the hydroformability of tubes using this approach instead of the traditional grids measurement. Switzerland.