ANALYSIS OF INFLUENCE OF BENDING RADIUS ON STRENGTH OF TITANIUM ALLOY TUBE

Titanium alloy has excellent performance, and the application of titanium alloy in aviation hydraulic pipeline could meet the requirements of high performance and light weight of the hydraulic system. However, the titanium alloy is difficult to be processed and formed, and the titanium alloy tube is easy to be thinned and distorted during the bending process, which affects the performance of the tube. In this paper, the forming process of TA18 titanium alloy tube with three bending radii was simulated, and the influence of bending radius on the thickness thinning rate and ovality of the bent tube was studied. Based on the forming simulation results, the bearing capacity of each bent tube after forming was studied, and the influence of bending radius on the service strength of the hydraulic tube was analyzed then. The results showed that increasing the bending radius could reduce the wall thickness thinning rate and ovality of the bending part, and enhance the service strength, which would provide data support for the bending forming and performance evaluation of titanium alloy tube.