THE NUMERICAL-SIMULATION OF THE INTEGRAL HYDROBULGING OF ELLIPSOIDAL SHELLS

The integral hydro-bulge forming of ellipsoidal shells is described. T he elasto-plastic finite element method is used to simulate the integr al forming process of an ellipsoidal shell. Simulation results show th at the plastic deformation does not occur at the same time on the diff erent zone of the shell and the flexural effect exists at the corner o f the shell. The expanding of the plastic deformation, the yield paths of the typical points and the thickness distribution after hydrobulgi ng are also researched in detail. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.