International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmactool

Manufacturing of a wire-reinforced aluminum tube via hydroforming T

process
Jae Hyun Raa, Sang Wook Hana, Chester J. VanTyneb, Young Hoon Moona,∗
a
School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, 30 Jangjeon-dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan, 46241, South Korea
b
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, 80401, USA

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Aluminum composites have been widely used in a variety of applications requiring high strength levels and low
Wire-reinforced tube (WRT) weights. This paper proposes an innovative hydroforming process for the manufacturing of wire-reinforced
Aluminum composite aluminum tubes. To characterize the proposed hydroforming process for the manufacturing of wire-reinforced
Hydroforming tubes (WRTs), a finite element (FE) analysis was conducted with various combinations of wires. The re-
Finite element method (FEM)
inforcement effects of the WRT were verified according to the number of reinforcing wires and their diameters.
Loading path
Lateral bending
Based on the equivalent plastic strain and tube wall thickness values of the inner tube as derived via the FE
analysis, appropriate loading paths for hydroforming experiments were derived according to various combi-
nations of reinforcing wires. Through hydroforming experiments, WRTs without process-induced defects such as
insufficient bulging, wire buckling, and tube bursting were successfully obtained. To estimate the mechanical
performance of the WRT when under a load, the structural strength was experimentally evaluated through a
lateral three-point bending test. The measured structural strength values demonstrate the superior reliability and
applicability of the WRT manufactured in this study.

1. Introduction based on their high fatigue strength [9,10].

The use of aluminum tubes is common in numerous industrial fields
given their significant advantages of low weights, good corrosion re-
sistance, and useful energy absorption characteristics [1–4]. Despite
these advantages, aluminum tubes are also associated with lower
strength and crashworthiness outcomes compared to standard steel
tubes. Therefore, there have been many attempts to construct suitable
reinforced aluminum tubes. Feng et al. investigated carbon-fiber-re-
inforced polymer (CFRP)/aluminum hybrid tubes which were utilized
as axial load members in spatial structures [5]. In a similar study, Shin
et al. analyzed the energy absorption capabilities during axial crushing
and bending collapse tests of aluminum/glass-fiber-reinforced plastic
hybrid tubes [6]. Additionally, fiber-reinforced aluminum tubes have
been studied in a wide variety of applications [7,8]. However, most
previous studies focused on utilizing fibrous materials as aluminum
reinforcements, but manufacturing problems such as wettability issues
and chemical reactions between the fibers and molten aluminum acted
as major obstacles preventing the proper synthesizing of such high-
performance materials and exploiting them to their utmost potential.
Steel wires are important structural members in various machines
and transport equipment, including conveyer belts and tire filaments,
Recently, several forming methods have been established with
which to fabricate steel-wire-reinforced aluminum composites. Foydl
et al. manufactured steel-reinforced aluminum products by combining
hot extrusion and closed-die forging processes [11]. They focused on
the positions of reinforcement elements with different shapes and their
adhesion to the matrix in discontinuously reinforced, semi-finished
aluminum profiles during the extrusion step. In the subsequent forging
step, finite element (FE) analyses were carried out to predict the posi-
tions of wires based on their initial positions from the extrusion step.
Huang et al. fabricated a stainless steel wire-mesh-reinforced Al-matrix
composite plate utilizing a solid-liquid cast-bonding process based on
vertical twin-roll casting [12]. In addition to these experiments, alu-
minum-based composites with steel wires acting as reinforcing mem-
bers have been manufactured by many other methods, such as explosive
welding [13,14], powder metallurgy [15], diffusion bonding [16],
spray co-deposition [17], and casting [18].
As mentioned above, various methods for the manufacturing of
wire-reinforced composites have been proposed and will be presented
continuously in the future. However, most manufacturing methods of
reinforced composites focus on work pieces related to plates, rather
than tubes [19]. Therefore, in this paper, an innovative hydroforming

∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: yhmoon@pusan.ac.kr (Y.H. Moon).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2019.05.001
Received 26 January 2019; Received in revised form 27 April 2019; Accepted 6 May 2019
Available online 09 May 2019
0890-6955/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
J.H. Ra, et al.
Fig. 1. Main components of the WRT: (a) before hydroforming and (b) after hydroforming.
process for the manufacturing of a wire-reinforced aluminum tube is
proposed and analyzed for validation purposes.
The tube hydroforming (THF) process is a specialized forming
process that utilizes internal pressure and axial feeding loads to obtain
the desired product by expanding tube blanks within a given die cavity.
The THF is particularly well suited to the manufacturing of wire-re-
inforced tubes (WRTs) given its advantages of high efficiency, solid
product performance, and dimensional accuracy [20]. Furthermore, the
THF is highly cost effective compared to the aforementioned forming
methods.
In this paper, a simple and robust method for the manufacturing of
WRTs utilizing THF is proposed. The reinforcing effects of wires are
verified according to the diameter and number of reinforcing wires.
Fig. 1 illustrates the main components of the WRT. Steel wires are ar-
rayed circumferentially between an outer tube and an inner tube, as
shown in Fig. 1 (a). Through the expansion of the inner tube via in-
ternal pressure, the wires are completely embedded between the two
tubes, as shown in Fig. 1 (b). In the case of the outer tube, forming is
limited by a rigid die to suppress the radial deformation of the em-
bedded wires. The ends of the steel wires can only move longitudinally
due to restrictions imposed by holes pierced circumferentially by a
punch designed for reinforcement purposes. In this study, ASTM A228
was adopted as the wire material. ASTM A228 is cold-drawn-steel
music-spring-quality wire subjected to a typical treatment involving a
process called “patenting,” where the wire is austenitized and quenched
in molten metal, leading to an approximately isothermal transformation
into fine pearlite. Owing to its high strength, it is used to manufacture
springs and in the construction of reinforced elastomer products, such
as timing belts and automotive tires [21].
To characterize the proposed hydroforming process for the manu-
facturing of WRTs, a FE analysis was conducted with various combi-
nations of wires. Based on the equivalent plastic strain and tube wall
thickness values of the inner tube from the FE analysis results, optimal
loading paths were selected according to various tube combinations
2
International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15
[22–24].
To estimate the performance of the WRT under a load, the structural
strength must be evaluated. In some cases, the structural strength of a
part can be lowered by non-uniform through-thickness deformation and
local strain concentrations [25–28]. There are two representative ex-
periments for verifying the reinforcement effects or deformation be-
havior of reinforced composites: axial loading (or impact) and three-
point bending. Regarding the axial loading method, Reuter and Tröster
investigated the deformation and damage behavior of four different
axially loaded structures through a drop tower test [29]. Then, they
performed a post-crash analysis of the failure modes of hybrid com-
ponents through various computed tomography methods. Sun et al.
characterized the crashworthiness of aluminum and CFRP tubes based
on quasi-static axial and oblique compression assessments [30]. Tests
were conducted at five different loading angles of 0°, 5°, 10°, 20°, and
30° relative to the tubal axis. In this study, lateral three-point bending
tests were implemented conventionally with a focus on parameters
related to energy absorption, crashworthiness, and the ultimate beha-
vior of tubular structures [31]. The measured structural strength values
demonstrate the reliability and applicability of the WRT manufactured
in this study.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. FE analysis
FE analysis was performed to simulate the WRT hydroforming
process using a commercially available software, ABAQUS. The
ABAQUS/Explicit algorithm was employed to simulate the plastic de-
formation during the loading (bulging) stage, and the ABAQUS/
Standard algorithm was used to simulate the spring back during the
unloading stage. The FE analysis model consists of the die, the punch,
tubes, and wires as shown in Fig. 2. To improve the computational
efficiency, only half of the geometry was chosen for the simulation since
J.H. Ra, et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15

Fig. 2. FE simulation model for WRT hydroforming.

Table 1
Dimensions and material properties of the AA 6063-T5 tube.
Material Dimensions Material properties
Outer dia. (mm) Inner dia. (mm) Thickness (mm) Length (mm) YS(MPa) UTS (MPa) UE (%)
Outer tube AA 6063-T5 50.8 48.4 1.2 240 210.9 251.7 6.4
Inner tube AA 6063-T5 (annealed) 45.0 42.0 1.5 250 62.7 130.4 12.6

Table 2
Dimensions and material properties of the steel wire.
Material Dia. (mm) UTS (MPa)
Wire ASTM A228 1.0 2037.3
1.2 2025.1
1.4 2017.8
1.6 1933.8
there is symmetry for WRT hydroforming. The die and punch were
assumed to be rigid bodies, and three-dimensional models were used.
The die and punch were modeled using R3D4 four-node bilinear rigid
quadrilateral elements with a mesh size of 5 × 5 mm and 2 × 2 mm,
respectively. The outer and inner tubes were separately modeled using
S4R four-node doubly curved thin shell elements. Five integration
points were selected for the thickness direction to obtain a precise value
along the wall thickness for the reduced integration element S4R [32].
The mesh size of the outer and inner tubes was 3 × 3 mm and
1 × 1 mm, respectively. The wires were modeled as a deformable body
using C3D8R eight-node linear-brick reduced integration elements with
hourglass control with mesh size of 0.3 × 0.3 mm. The materials were
assumed to obey the von Mises yield criterion. Also, the material was
assumed to be isotropic and elastic-plastic. A Coulomb coefficient of
friction between the die and tube was assumed to be 0.05. The tensile
properties of tubes and wires used in the numerical simulation were
obtained from uniaxial tensile tests. Table 1 lists the inner and outer
dimensions of the AA 6063-T5 tubes. AA 6063-T5 aluminum is an ar-
tificially aged aluminum alloy with magnesium and silicon as alloying
elements. Table 2 lists the dimensions and material properties of the
ASTM A228 steel wire. The simulation conditions for the FE analysis are
summarized in Table 3.
As the expansion of inner tube increases, the WRT exhibits a greater
reinforcing effect because the contact area between the inner and outer
tubes increases. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the deformation
UE (%) behavior of the inner tube under high-pressure conditions.
To obtain the approximate axial feeding to prevent leakage during
2.57 hydroforming, the contracting movement during hydroforming without
3.17
axial feeding was estimated. The contracting movement of the tube end
3.89
3.96
during hydroforming, S, is shown in Fig. 3.
The contracting movement S can be defined as the difference be-
tween the initial tube length and the final tube length, which is ex-
pressed by
S = li lf (1)
If the axial feeding is less than S, pressure leakage occurs in the gap
between the tube end and the punch, which results in a pressure drop
near the tube end. This pressure drop eventually leads to imperfect
expansion of the tube. Therefore, the axial feeding must be greater than
the tube contracting movement S.
From the principle of volume constancy, the initial volume and the
final volume of the inner tube are equal:
Vi = Vf (2)
As the cross-sectional area is almost constant in the longitudinal
direction, the volume can be denoted as the product of the cross-sec-
tional area and the tube length:
Ai li = Af lf (3)
here, Ai is the cross-sectional area of the initial tube shape, li is the
initial length of the inner tube, Af is the cross-sectional area of the final
tube shape and lf is the final length of the inner tube.
Substituting Eq. (1) into Eq. (3), the contracting movement of the
inner tube can be defined as follows:

Table 3
Simulation conditions.
Outer tube Inner tube Steel wire

2
Size of elements (mm ) 3×3 1×1 0.3 × 0.3
Number of elements 2080 17,000 12,990(1.0 mm), 22,516(1.2 mm), 23,382(1.4 mm), 39,836(1.6 mm)
Integration point 5 5 1
Element type Four-node shell element (S4R) Eight-node brick element (C3D8R)
Young's modulus (GPa) 68.9 210
Poisson's ratio 0.33 0.31
Density (kg/m3) 2700 7800
Friction coefficient 0.05

3
J.H. Ra, et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15

Fig. 3. Tube contracting movement during hydroforming without axial feeding.

(Af Ai ) li
S=
Af (4)

The cross-sectional area of the initial tube shape, Ai , can be defined

as follows:
Ai = di ti (5)

In this equation, di is the initial diameter of the inner tube and ti is

the initial tube wall thickness of the inner tube.
The final tube shape is composed of the repetitive arrangement of
the long and short arcs, as shown in Fig. 4.
From Fig. 4, the cross-sectional area of the final tube shape can be
obtained as

Af = Nw (Lˆl t f , l + Lˆs t f , s ) (6)

Fig. 5. Geometric model of the WRT structure.
where Nw is number of wires, L̂l and Lˆs are the lengths of long and short
arcs, and t f , l and t f , s are tube wall thicknesses of long and short arcs With regard to r,
after hydroforming, respectively.
From the geometrical relationship shown in Fig. 5, one circle that
r=
R (2R d) 1 ( cos 2 )
circumscribes two wires and inscribes the outer tube can be drawn.
2R + d + (d 2R) cos 2 (8)
When these three centers of circle are connected, r and can be
easily obtained from a triangle model. When applying the cosine for- where
mula,
360°
2 2 =
d d d Nw (9)
r+ = R + (R r )2 2 R (R r )cos
2 2 2 2 (7)
Also, when applying the sine formula
d
R r r+ 2
=
sin ( )
2
sin 2
(10)
while for ,

(R r ) sin 2
= + 2sin 1
d
r+ 2 (11)
Accordingly, with the calculated values of r and , the lengths of the
long arc L̂l and the short arc Lˆs are respectively denoted as

Lˆl = 2 r ×
360° (12)

Lˆs = d ×
Fig. 4. Final tube shape composed of the repetitive arrangement of arcs. 360° (13)

4
J.H. Ra, et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15

Table 4
Parameters of geometric model according to wire diameter and number of wires.
Nw d mm r mm ° L̂l mm Lˆs mm t f , l a mm t f , s a mm Af mm2 lf mm ΔVR S (FEM) mm S (analytic solution) mm

6 1.0 18.4 77.65 24.94 0.15 1.399 1.203 210.46 121.75 4.29 × 10−6 3.203 3.33
1.2 17.5 81.16 24.85 0.22 1.397 1.171 209.85 122.10 3.62 × 10−5 2.863 2.90
1.4 16.7 84.65 24.75 0.30 1.392 1.130 208.75 122.75 −1.74 × 10−5 2.660 2.25
1.6 16.0 88.15 24.65 0.39 1.389 1.112 208.06 123.15 4.00 × 10−5 2.426 1.85
12 1.0 10.8 65.69 12.39 0.31 1.390 1.200 211.15 121.35 2.19 × 10−5 3.811 3.65
1.2 9.71 72.66 12.31 0.45 1.383 1.170 210.57 121.69 −2.53 × 10−5 3.465 3.31
1.4 8.81 79.52 12.23 0.60 1.377 1.140 210.36 121.81 −1.31 × 10−5 3.188 3.19
1.6 8.05 86.37 12.13 0.79 1.370 1.100 209.81 122.13 −1.87 × 10−5 2.939 2.87

a
The tube wall thicknesses t f , l and t f , s were obtained from the FEM.

When the obtained L̂l and Lˆs values are substituted into Eq. (6), the
contracting movement of the tube can be obtained with Eq. (4).
In this study, the tube wall thicknesses t f , l and t f , s were obtained
from the FE analysis but without the application of axial feeding during
the hydroforming process. Through the FE analysis, tube wall thickness
of the short arc t f , s is much thinner than the tube wall thickness of the
long arc t f , l . This occurs because the tube sections, where the wires are
located, touch the obstacles much earlier than the tube sections, where
no wires are located. Thus, the tube sections near the wire location start
to thin first during the hydroforming process.
Table 4 summarizes the parameters of the geometrical model ob-
tained from both an analytical solution and the FE analysis. To check
the volume constancy shown in Eq. (2), the volume difference between
the initial volume Vi and the final volume Vf after WRT hydroforming
was calculated as;
Vi Vf
VR =
Vi (14)

As shown in Table 4, ΔVR is negligibly small due to the adherence to

volume constancy. The analytical contracting movement S has been
compared with that of an FE simulation without feeding. As shown in
Table 4, the analytically obtained S values reasonably well agree with
those of the FE simulations. In this study, the contracting stroke S ob-
tained by the analytical solution was used to determine the loading
path.
As mentioned above, the axial feeding must be greater than the tube
contracting movement. Accordingly, in order to characterize the inner
tube before the actual experiment, FE analyses with axial feeding using
the parameters shown in Table 4 were performed. The FE analyses were
divided into two cases with different wire diameters of 1.0 and 1.6 mm.
Fig. 6 shows the tube wall thickness distributions of an inner tube
containing twelve wires with diameters of 1.0 mm and 1.6 mm. In both
cases, the minimum thickness points in the inner tube are always lo-
cated in the areas where the most intensive contact is achieved with the
surfaces of the wires.
Considering the thickness distribution as shown in Fig. 6, it should
be noted that the minimum thickness is mostly located at the center Fig. 6. Tube wall thickness distributions of inner tubes with (a) wires with
portion of the inner tube. Figs. 7 and 8 show the change in equivalent 1.0 mm diameters at 25 MPa and (b) with wires with 1.60 mm diameters at
plastic strain (Δε) and the change in tube wall thickness (Δt) for WRTs 30 MPa.
whose wire diameters are 1.0 and 1.6 mm, respectively. The equivalent
plastic strain change is defined as In three successive pressure ranges, the changes of the equivalent
plastic strain and tube wall thickness were measured with respect to the
i f = f i (15)
circumferential angle.
where i f is the change in equivalent plastic strain between initial As shown in Fig. 7 (a), the inner tube with a wire diameter of
pressure and final pressure, f is the equivalent plastic strain at the final 1.0 mm deformed rapidly in the spaces between the wires for
pressure and i is the equivalent plastic strain at the initial pressure. 10 15MPa . At certain wire-contacting angles (0°, 30°, 60°), the de-
Similarly, the tube wall thickness change is defined as formation was minor, whereas at intermediate angles between adjacent
wires (15°, 45°, 75°), more substantial deformation occurred. Then, for
ti = tf ti (16)
15 20MPa , the degree of deformation was significantly reduced com-
f

where ti f is the change tube wall thickness between the initial pared to that for 10 15MPa . For 20 25MPa , very little deformation
pressure and the final pressure, t f is the tube wall thickness at final occurred in the inner tube. Therefore, we can conclude that an internal
pressure and ti is the tube wall thickness at initial pressure. pressure of 25 MPa is required to fabricate a WRT with a wire diameter

5
J.H. Ra, et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15

Fig. 7. FE simulation results for a WRT with a wire diameter of 1.0 mm: (a) change in equivalent plastic strain and (b) change in wall thickness of the inner tube.

6
J.H. Ra, et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15

Fig. 8. FE simulation results for a WRT with a wire diameter of 1.6 mm: (a) change in equivalent plastic strain and (b) change in wall thickness of the inner tube.

7
J.H. Ra, et al.
Fig. 9. Shape behavior of WRTs according to loading path: (a) six wires and (b) twelve wires.
Fig. 10. (a) Hydroforming machine, (b) die cavity with a straight shape, and (c) punch set.
of 1.0 mm. Regarding the wall thickness, the tube wall thickness tended
to become thinner as the pressure was increased. Specifically, a local
thickness reduction occurred where the wires were located, as shown in
Fig. 7 (b). Because the thickness change was minute for t20 25MPa , the
forming pressure for a WRT with a wire diameter of 1.0 mm was set to
25 MPa.
Fig. 8 (a) presents the changes in the equivalent plastic strain of an
inner tube with a wire diameter of 1.6 mm. The inner tube expanded
continuously until it reached a pressure of 25 MPa. However, the ex-
pansion was significantly reduced thereafter. Fig. 8 (b) presents a graph
of the changes in the tube wall thickness of the inner tube. It is apparent
that the thickness deviation according to the circumferential angle was
greater than that for the inner tube with a wire diameter of 1.0 mm. For
t25 30MPa , there was little change in the thickness, and the material
was sufficiently thin to show the effects of strain hardening. Therefore,
the forming pressure for a WRT with a wire diameter of 1.6 mm was set
to 30 MPa.
To manufacture a sound WRT, the loading path for the hydro-
forming process must be determined. As the forming pressure for WRTs
with a wire diameters of 1.0 mm and 1.6 mm were established at
25 MPa and 30 MPa, respectively, the respective loading paths were
8
International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15
determined by setting the values of the contracting stroke, S, shown in
Table 4, as the reference values for the axial feeding. Fig. 9 shows the
proposed loading paths for the six-wire WRT and the twelve-wire WRT.
2.2. Hydroforming experiments
2.2.1. Hydroforming equipment
Experiments were conducted with the tube hydroforming machine
presented in Fig. 10 (a). The vertical hydraulic cylinder can deliver up
to 100 tons of clamping force and allows for upper die movement. The
hydroforming system consists of two 80-ton actuators mounted hor-
izontally for the axial feed process at both tube ends. The pressure in-
tensifier unit, which supplies the hydraulic fluid, has a maximum
pressure capacity of 200 MPa. Preprogrammed paths can be set for the
axial feed and internal pressure values. When the response is slow or
intermittent pressure drops occur, the system continues hydroforming
after preventing the end-feeding actuator from advancing until the
hydraulic pressure reaches the required level. If the hydraulic pressure
does not consistently reach the required pressure level, the process
automatically stops. A straight shape was adopted for the die cavity to
expand the inner tube, as shown in Fig. 10 (b). Fig. 10 (c) presents a
J.H. Ra, et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15

Fig. 11. Schematic illustration of the manufacturing of the WRT: (a) insertion of wires, (b) placing the inner tube, (c) placing the outer tube, (d) combination with an
opposite punch, and hydroforming.

9
J.H. Ra, et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15

Fig. 12. Experimental shape of the WRT according to the loading path: (a) sound and (b) failed tube.

Fig. 13. Contact stress distributions measured at the inner tube.

Fig. 14. Springback effect in WRT hydroforming (a) loading stage (b) unloading stage.

punch set following a hole-machining process in the circumferential
direction for wire insertion.
The dimensions of the inner and outer tubes are listed in Table 1.
The outer tube and inner tube were cut precisely to lengths of 240 mm
and 250 mm, respectively, to achieve axial feeding exclusively into the
inner tube.
A tube was placed in the die cavity and the die was closed according
to the preprogramming. The end-feeding punches advanced to place the
tube ends on the punch shoulders. The tube was then filled with
hydraulic fluid and the hydroforming process proceeded according to
the preprogrammed loading path.
2.2.2. Hydroforming of the WRT
The manufacturing process for the hydroforming of the WRT con-
taining six wires is presented schematically in Fig. 11. First, the wires
are inserted into the holes of the punch in intervals corresponding to the
number to be tested, as shown in Fig. 11 (a). The tubes are then posi-
tioned such that the wires are circumferentially arrayed between the

10
J.H. Ra, et al.
Fig. 15. Changes in thickness and contact stress after unloading.
inner and outer tubes, as shown in Fig. 11 (b) and 11 (c). Next, the ends
of the wires are inserted into the holes in the opposite punch at the
same intervals, as shown in Fig. 11 (d). The assembled tubes are then
placed on the lower die after aligning the wires so that they are as
straight as possible. Finally, after the punch connector is transferred to
the end of the punch, the upper die is closed and subjected to a hy-
droforming process, as shown in Fig. 11 (e). Utilizing this procedure, a
WRT is manufactured through a hydroforming process, as shown in
Fig. 1 (b).
3. Results and discussion
To obtain a sound product, hydroforming experiments to produce a
WRT were performed using the loading paths shown in Fig. 9. To im-
prove the shape accuracy of the formed WRT without process-induced
defects, preliminary experiments were performed based on the pro-
posed loading path. When the slope of the linear loading path was lower
than the optimal slope range, the expansion of the inner tube was in-
sufficient to fill the die cavity completely due to a lack of internal
pressing. When the slope of the loading path was larger than the op-
timal slope range, the wires located between the inner and outer tubes
had a tendency to buckle. Additionally, applying excessive internal
pressure which surpasses the forming limit of the material increases the
risk that the inner tube will burst.
Fig. 12 presents the experimentally obtained WRT shapes according
to the loading path. Fig. 12 (a) presents a sound product obtained from
a proposed loading path and Fig. 12 (b) presents a failed product with
wire buckling and tube bursting hydroformed with an excessively steep
loading path.
For WRT, the clamping forces between the outer tube, inner tube
and wire are important. Therefore, the contact strength was analyzed
by FE simulations. Fig. 13 shows the simulated contact strength dis-
tribution of the inner tube. For the precise analysis of local contact
strength, Coi and Cwi are defined as the contact strengths between the
outer tube and the inner tube, and the wire and the inner tube, re-
spectively. Coi and Cwi were respectively measured at 12 points along
the circumferential direction, and the contact strength presented is the
average value. As shown in the figure, the contact strength, Cwi was
78.32% higher than the contact strength, Coi. This result indicates that
the contact strength between the wire and the inner tube plays a sig-
nificant role in enhancing the overall strength of WRT.
Springback is caused by elastic recovery after unloading [33]. To
predict the springback behavior of WRT hydroforming, the results from
the loading stage of ABAQUS/Explicit were imported into ABAQUS/
Standard, and the springback was calculated by static analysis [34]. The
decrease in contact stress after unloading, shown in Fig. 14, implies the
springback (elastic recovery) effect in the WRT hydroformed tube. In
11
International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15
general, the springback is characterized by the difference between the
shape under load compared to the shape after unloading. For WRT
hydroforming, the tight contact between wire and inner tube is main-
tained even after unloading. Hence, the shape change after unloading is
expected to be very small. To quantitatively analyze the springback
effect at the contact point between the wire and the inner tube, the
reduction in contact stress and the increase in thickness at contact point
after unloading were used as indices of springback, as shown in Fig. 15.
The contact stress and thickness were measured at all the points where
the wires were embedded, and the average changes after unloading
were regarded as the representative value of the WRT tube. As shown in
Fig. 15, the average changes the measured reduction in contact stress
was about 40–60 MPa for both the six wire and the twelve wire cases,
and the increase in thickness was negligibly small. This result is due to
the inner tube being constrained by the outer tube and wires, rather
than being released from the outer tube and wires after unloading. In
addition, the aluminum tubes with relatively lower flow stress show a
smaller elastic recovery effect than standard steel tubes [35].
3.1. Cross-sections of the WRT
To investigate the soundness of the fabricated WRT, it is important
to observe the cross-sections. As the expansion of the inner tube in-
creases, the strengthening effect of the WRT increases because in-
creased expansion induces increased contact with the outer tube.
Fig. 16 shows cross-sections of WRTs manufactured via hydroforming.
To validate simulation results, cross-sections obtained from FE simu-
lation are also shown in the figure. In each case, wires were embedded
between the inner and outer tubes via the expansion of the inner tube.
The expansion of the inner tubes was limited at the locations of the
wires, causing them to form flower-like shapes. Compared to the WRT
with six wires, the WRT with twelve wires had much less empty space.
This means that the contact area between the inner and outer tubes was
larger than that in the WRT with six wires. In other words, the WRT
with twelve wires has a larger reinforcing effect than that with six
wires.
The thickness variations of inner tube at point A in contact with
outer tube and at point B in contact with wire, shown in Fig. 17, were
quantitatively evaluated to compare the experimental and simulation
results. Fig. 18 shows the thickness at points A and B for the various
wire numbers and diameters of the wires. The thickness values obtained
by FE analysis showed good agreement with the experimentally mea-
sured thickness values. Regardless of the wire diameter, the change in
thickness at point A was constant at about 1.44 mm for six wires and
about 1.42 mm for twelve wires, respectively. In contrast at the point B,
the thickness of both six and twelve wires gradually decreased as the
wire diameter increased. Also, the thickness for twelve wires decreases
more steeply with increasing wire diameter when compared to six
wires. The reason is because twelve wires have a relatively short dis-
tance between the individual wires as compared to six wires. So, as the
internal pressure continues to increase, local plastic deformation of the
twelve wires with the short distance between the wires become more
severe, making the thickness thinner.
3.2. Estimation of the structural strength based on a lateral bending test
A lateral three-point bending experiment was conducted to evaluate
the structural strength of the fabricated WRT. The responses and be-
haviors of the WRT under bending loads can be expressed quantita-
tively based on numerous parameters, such as the peak load, absorbed
energy, and specific energy absorption, to analyze the structural per-
formance. For various configurations of WRTs, lateral bending tests
were performed at room temperature in a screw-driven testing machine
with a loading capacity of 100 kN. As illustrated in Fig. 19, the speci-
mens were set between the support plate and the punch without any
guiding fixtures and were loaded at a rate of 5 mm/min with a
J.H. Ra, et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15

Fig. 16. Sections of WRTs with (a) six wires and (b) twelve wires.

displacement of 50 mm. The diameter of the punch head was 50 mm

and the space between the two supports was 100 mm. The load and
displacement data were recorded by a data acquisition system.
The peak load Pmax is defined as the maximum bending load value
of the material. The flexural modulus Mf, defined as the linear slope to
the peak load, can also be an indicator of structural stiffness. The total
amount of energy absorbed by the tube element during the bending
stroke can be quantified by integrating the area under the load-stroke
curve as follows,
l
Ea = P dl
0 (17)

where Ea is the total absorbed energy, P is the instantaneous force, and l

Fig. 17. Thickness measuring points.
is the stroke displacement.
As another index of structural stiffness, the specific energy

12
J.H. Ra, et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15

Fig. 18. Thickness values for six wire and twelve wire tubes.

Fig. 20. Lateral bending loads with a punch stroke for WRTs with (a) six wires
and (b) twelve wires.

following the peak load.

The obtained quantitative parameters for structural strength are
Fig. 19. Lateral three-point tube bending test.
illustrated in Fig. 21. The experimental results indicate that the struc-
tural strength of the WRT is greater than that of a regular combined
absorption Ea can be derived by dividing the total energy absorption by tube. In other words, all quantitative strength parameters of the WRT
the tube mass to estimate the relative energy absorption efficiency of increased regardless of wire variables such as the number of wires and
the target product, as follows: the wire diameter compared to a regular AA 6063 combined tube.
Ea Additionally, the WRT showed slight differences in the quantitative
Ea =
m (18) strength parameters according to the number of wires and the wire
diameters. All values except for c increased with an increase in the
where Ea is the absorbed energy and m is the tube mass.
wire diameter when the number of wires remained constant. The same
The crush force efficiency c represents the ratio of the average
values also increased with an increase in the number of wires when the
crush load to the peak load. The average crush load Pm, the mean
wire diameter remained constant. Consequently, when comparing all
bending load during bending deformation, can be derived by dividing
quantitative parameters of the structural strength, the WRT with twelve
the absorbed energy by the stroke displacement as follows:
wires with diameters of 1.6 mm showed the highest values of Mf, Pmax,
1
l
1 Ea, and Ea , with corresponding increases of 52.9%, 28.7%, 31.7%, and
Pm = P dl = Ea 16.8% compared to a regular combined tube.
l l (19)
0 Based on the above results, the superior structural strength of the
Pm WRT validates its reliability and confirms the applicability of the pro-
= posed WRT hydroforming process.
(20)
c
Pmax

Lateral bending tests were conducted on a WRT manufactured via 4. Conclusion

the hydroforming process for two different cases: six-wire-reinforced
tubes and twelve-wire-reinforced tubes. For comparison, a regular AA This paper proposed an innovative hydroforming process for the
6063 combined tube was also subjected to bending tests. The load- manufacturing of wire-reinforced tubes (WRTs). The following con-
displacement curves of the tubes under three-point bending are pre- clusions were obtained:
sented in Fig. 20. The curves show a tendency to increase initially and
then decrease from the peak load, presenting two distinct regions: an 1) The proposed hydroforming process for fabricating WRTs was
initial deformation resistive region and a bending collapse region

13
J.H. Ra, et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15

Fig. 21. Structural strength parameters of the WRT: (a) Mf, (b) Pmax, (c) Ea, (d) Ea , and (e). c

14
J.H. Ra, et al.
successfully implemented and validated in this study. The proposed
WRT hydroforming process provides a useful alternative to the
fabrication of tubular aluminum composites that are widely used in
a variety of applications requiring high strength levels and low
weights.
2) An appropriate loading path which prevents undesirable bulging
and buckling has been determined through an analytical and nu-
merical analysis. The forming pressure from the simulation gives
rise to equivalent plastic strains and wall thickness variations. The
contracting strokes using the proposed analytical solution provides
the feeding stroke for a given wire combination.
3) For WRT, the clamping forces between the outer tube, inner tube
and wire are important. The contact strength between the wire and
the inner tube was significantly higher than that between the outer
tube and the inner tube. This result indicates that the contact
strength between the wire and the inner tube plays a significant role
in enhancing the overall strength of WRT.
4) A lateral three-point test demonstrated that the flexural modulus,
peak load, absorbed energy, specific energy absorption, and crush
force efficiency of a WRT are superior compared to those of regular
tubes.
5) The superior structural strength of the WRT confirms its reliability
and confirms the applicability of the proposed hydroforming pro-
cess. The results of this study provide insights for the structural
strengthening of light tubular materials, and contribute to the de-
velopment and use of lightweight components.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of
Korea grant funded by the Korean government (MSIP) (no.
2012R1A5A1048294).
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2019.05.001.
References
[1] D.A. Oliveira, M.J. Worswick, Tube bending and hydroforming of aluminium alloy
S-rails, Int. J. Material Form. 2 (3) (2009) 197–215 https://doi.org/10.1007/
s12289-009-0404-1.
[2] H.K. Yi, E.J. Pavlina, C.J. Van Tyne, Y.H. Moon, Application of a combined heating
system for the warm hydroforming of lightweight Alloy tubes, J. Mater. Process.
Technol. 203 (1–3) (2008) 532–536 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2007.09.
071.
[3] Q. Liu, H. Shen, Y. Wu, Z. Xia, J. Fang, Q. Li, Crash responses under multiple im-
pacts and residual properties of CFRP and aluminum tubes, Compos. Struct. 194
(2018) 87–103 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2018.04.001.
[4] B.J. Kim, C.J. Van Tyne, M.Y. Lee, Y.H. Moon, Finite element analysis and ex-
perimental confirmation of warm hydroforming process for aluminum alloy, J.
Mater. Process. Technol. 187–188 (2007) 296–299 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jmatprotec.2006.11.201.
[5] P. Feng, L. Hu, P. Qian, L. Ye, “Compressive bearing capacity of CFRP–aluminum
alloy hybrid tubes, Compos. Struct. 140 (2016) 749–757 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
compstruct.2016.01.041.
[6] K.C. Shin, J.J. Lee, K.H. Kim, M.C. Song, J.S. Huh, Axial crush and bending collapse
of an aluminum/GFRP hybrid square tube and its energy absorption capability,
Compos. Struct. 57 (1–4) (2002) 279–287 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-
8223(02)00094-6.
[7] C. Isaza, G. Sierra, J.M. Meza, A novel technique for production of metal matrix
composites reinforced with carbon nanotubes, J. Manuf. Sci. Eng. 138 (2) (2016)
024501-024501-5 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4030377.
[8] J. Zhang, S. Liu, Y. Lu, X. Yin, Y. Zhang, T. Li, Liquid rolling of woven carbon fibers
reinforced Al5083-matrix composites, Mater. Des. 95 (2016) 89–96 https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.matdes.2016.01.074.
[9] G. Fedorko, V. Molnár, Ž. Ferková, P. Peterka, J. Krešák, M. Tomašková,
Possibilities of failure analysis for steel cord conveyor belts using knowledge ob-
tained from non-destructive testing of steel ropes, Eng. Fail. Anal. 67 (2016) 33–45
15
International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 143 (2019) 1–15
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2016.05.026.
[10] B.D. Joo, J.H. Jang, J.H. Lee, Y.M. Son, Y.H. Moon, Selective laser melting of Fe-Ni-
Cr layer on AISI H13 tool steel, Trans. Nonferrous Metals Soc. China 19 (4) (2009)
921–924 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1003-6326(08)60378-7.
[11] A. Foydl, I. Pfeiffer, M. Kammler, D. Pietzka, T. Matthias, A. Jäger, A.E. Tekkaya,
B.A. Behrens, Manufacturing of steel-reinforced aluminum products by combining
hot extrusion and closed-die forging, Key Eng. Mater. 504–506 (2012) 481–486
https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.504-506.481.
[12] H. Huang, J. Wang, W. Liu, Mechanical properties and reinforced mechanism of the
stainless steel wire mesh-reinforced Al-matrix composite plate fabricated by twin-
roll casting, Adv. Mech. Eng. 9 (6) (2017) 1–9 https://doi.org/10.1177/
1687814017716639.
[13] K. Raghukandan, S. Saravanan, Production of wire mesh reinforced aluminium
composites through explosive compaction, Mater. Sci. Forum 910 (2018) 41–45
https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.910.41.
[14] T. Lee, S. Zhang, A. Vivek, B. Kinsey, G. Daehn, Flyer thickness effect in the impact
welding of aluminum to steel, J. Manuf. Sci. Eng. 140 (12) (2018) 121002-121002-
7 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4041247.
[15] C.M. Anand Partheeban, M. Rajendran, S.C. Vettivel, S. Suresh, N.S.V. Moorthi,
Mechanical behavior and failure analysis using online acoustic emission on nano-
graphite reinforced Al6061-10TiB2 hybrid composite using powder metallurgy,
Mater. Sci. Eng. 632 (2015) 1–13 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2015.02.064.
[16] M. Hasan, J. Zhao, Z. Huang, L. Chang, H. Zhou, Z. Jiang, Analysis of sintering and
bonding of ultrafine WC powder and stainless steel by hot compaction diffusion
bonding, Fusion Eng. Des. 133 (2018) 39–50 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.
2018.05.076.
[17] T. Peat, A. Galloway, A. Toumpis, P. McNutt, N. Iqbal, The erosion performance of
particle reinforced metal matrix composite coatings produced by Co-deposition cold
gas dynamic spraying, Appl. Surf. Sci. 396 (2017) 1623–1634 https://doi.org/10.
1016/j.apsusc.2016.10.155.
[18] G. Nageswaran, S. Natarajan, K.R. Ramkumar, Synthesis, structural characteriza-
tion, mechanical and wear behaviour of Cu-TiO2-Gr hybrid composite through stir
casting technique, J. Alloy. Comp. 768 (2018) 733–741 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jallcom.2018.07.288.
[19] J.G. Kim, J.I. Yoon, S.M. Baek, M.H. Seo, K.G. Chin, S. Lee, H.S. Kim, Stretch-
flangeability of twinning-induced plasticity steel-cored three-layer steel sheet, J.
Mater. Process. Technol. 258 (2018) 220–225 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jmatprotec.2018.04.002.
[20] B.H. Kang, M.Y. Lee, S.M. Shon, Y.H. Moon, Forming various shapes of tubular
bellows using a single-step hydroforming process, J. Mater. Process. Technol. 194
(1–3) (2007) 1–6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2007.02.029.
[21] A.V. Olver, D. Wilson, P.S.J. Crofton, Investigation of service failures of steel music
wire, Eng. Fail. Anal. 14 (7) (2007) 1224–1232 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
engfailanal.2006.11.014.
[22] M. Mirzaali, S.M.H. Seyedkashi, G.H. Liaghat, H. Moslemi Naeini, K. Shojaee G,
Y.H. Moon, Application of simulated annealing method to pressure and force
loading optimization in tube hydroforming process, Int. J. Mech. Sci. 55 (1) (2012)
78–84 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmecsci.2011.12.005.
[23] M. Imaninejad, G. Subhash, A. Loukus, Loading path optimization of tube hydro-
forming process, Int. J. Mach. Tool Manuf. 45 (12–13) (2005) 1504–1514 https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2005.01.029.
[24] S.W. Han, Y.Y. Woo, T.W. Hwang, I.Y. Oh, Y.H. Moon, Tailor layered tube hydro-
forming for fabricating tubular parts with dissimilar thickness, Int. J. Mach. Tool
Manuf. 138 (2019) 51–65 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2018.11.005.
[25] Y.H. Moon, D.W. Kim, C.J. Van Tyne, Analytical model for prediction of sidewall
curl during stretch-bend sheet metal forming, Int. J. Mech. Sci. 50 (4) (2008)
666–675 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmecsci.2008.01.003.
[26] M. Nagaraj, B. Ravisankar, Enhancing the strength of structural steel through severe
plastic deformation based thermomechanical treatment, Mater. Sci. Eng. 738
(2018) 420–429 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2018.09.095.
[27] H.K. Yi, D.W. Kim, C.J. Van Tyne, Y.H. Moon, Analytical prediction of springback
based on residual differential strain during sheet metal bending, Proc I MechE Part
B: J. Mech. Eng. Sci. 222 (2) (2008) 117–129 https://doi.org/10.1243/
09544062JMES682.
[28] M. Meshreki, H. Attia, J. Kövecses, A new analytical formulation for the dynamics
of multipocket thin-walled structures considering the fixture constraints, J. Manuf.
Sci. Eng. 133 (2) (2011) 021014-021014-14 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4003520.
[29] C. Reuter, T. Tröster, Crashworthiness and numerical simulation of hybrid alumi-
nium-CFRP tubes under axial impact, Thin-Walled Struct. 117 (2017) 1–9 https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2017.03.034.
[30] G. Sun, S. Li, G. Li, Q. Li, On Crashing Behaviors of Aluminium/CFRP Tubes
Subjected to Axial and Oblique Loading: an Experimental Study,” Composites Part
B, vol. 145, (2018), pp. 47–56 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2018.02.
001.
[31] Q. Liu, X. Xu, J. Ma, J. Wang, Y. Shi, D. Hui, Lateral crushing and bending responses
of CFRP square tube filled with aluminum honeycomb, Composites Part B 118
(2017) 104–115 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2017.03.021.
[32] J. Liu, H. Li, Y. Liu, L. Li, C. Sun, “Size effect” related hydroforming characteristics
of thin-walled 316-L bellow considering pressure change, Int. J. Adv. Manuf.
Technol. 98 (1–4) (2018) 505–522 https://doi.org/10.1007/s0017.
[33] E. Daxin, Y. Liu, Springback and time-dependent springback of 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless
steel tubes under bending, Mater. Des. 31 (3) (2010) 1256–1261 https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.matdes.2009.09.026.
[34] F. Foadian, A. Carrado, T. Pirling, H. Palkowski, Residual stresses evolution in Cu
tubes, cold drawn with tilted dies–Neutron diffraction measurements and finite
element simulation, Mater. Des. 107 (2016) 163–170 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
matdes.2016.06.028.
[35] J. Liu, Y. Liu, L. Li, X. Li, Springback behaviors of bi-layered non-homogeneous
bellows in hydroforming, Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol. 93 (5–8) (2017) 1605–1616
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-017-0642-1.