King Saud University, Industrial Engineering Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Private consultant, Cairo, Egypt.
PLoS One. 2019 Apr 8;14(4):e0214608. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214608. eCollection 2019.
A tube is an important structural element for fluid manipulation in piped networks in many industries. Tube branching is achieved using tube fittings of various shapes, including T, Y, X, and L shapes. This study proposes a new innovative technique to produce T-shaped tubular fittings. The technique uses a specially designed die setup where a tube is placed inside a T-shaped die cavity and a metallic insert is used to deform the tube into the cavity, creating the T-fitting shape. Experimental and numerical methods are used to evaluate the process. The main outcome of this research is the successful creation of T-shaped copper tube fittings using a technique similar to tube hydroforming without the need for internal pressure. This technique could be modified to assist the production of T-fittings with thicknesses outside the hydroforming limits.
管是许多行业中管道网络中流体操纵的重要结构元件。管分支是通过使用各种形状的管接头来实现的，包括 T、Y、X 和 L 形。本研究提出了一种生产 T 形管状接头的新创新技术。该技术使用了一种特殊设计的模具装置，其中将管放置在 T 形模具腔内部，并用金属嵌件使管变形到腔中，从而形成 T 形接头形状。采用实验和数值方法对该过程进行了评估。本研究的主要成果是成功地使用类似于管液压成形的技术制造了 T 形铜管接头，而无需内部压力。该技术可以进行修改，以辅助生产超出液压成形范围的厚度的 T 形接头。
