Experimental Study on Residual Cross-Sectional Flattening of Thin-Walled Pipes Under Pure Plastic Bending

Abstract Cross-sectional ovalization (ovalization) usually occurs when thin-walled pipe is subjected to large plastic bending. This paper is concerned with residual deformation of thin-walled pipe's cross section in a radial direction when external bending moment is removed. In order to clarify the fundamental ovalization characteristics, find out what factors influence the residual flattening (value of ovalization), the ovalization behavior is investigated experimentally. The experiments are carried out on 21 stainless steel specimens with different geometric parameters under different bending radii by means of a four-point pure bending device. The residual cross-sectional flattenings are monitored continuously by scanning the cross section periodically along the circumferential direction. From the experimental results, it is observed that the cross-sectional shape of the thin-walled pipe is not perfect standard ellipse, and the appearance of the maximum residual flattening is usually found in the direction normal to the neutral surface. It is also revealed the relationships between the residual flattening and the bending radius, the wall thickness, and the pipe outer diameter, i.e., the residual flattening increases as the bending radius and the wall thickness reduce, but it increases as the outer diameter increases. These results are expected to find their potential application in thin-walled pipe bending operation.