Open Access

ARTICLE

Fuzzy Control Optimization of Loading Paths for Hydroforming of Variable Diameter Tubes

Yong Xu^1,2, Xuewei Zhang¹, Wenlong Xie^2,*, Shihong Zhang², Xinyue Huang³, Yaqiang Tian¹, Liansheng Chen¹

1 College of Metallurgy and Energy, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, 063210, China
2 Shi-Changxu Innovation Center for Advanced Materials, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110000, China
3 Shenyang Duoyuan Mechanical & Electrical Equipment Co., Ltd., Shenyang, 110000, China

* Corresponding Author: Wenlong Xie. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Emerging Trends in Fuzzy Logic)

Computers, Materials & Continua 2024, 81(2), 2753-2768. https://doi.org/10.32604/cmc.2024.055408

Received 26 June 2024; Accepted 14 September 2024; Issue published 18 November 2024

Abstract

The design of the loading path is one of the important research contents of the tube hydroforming process. Optimization of loading paths using optimization algorithms has received attention due to the inefficiency of only finite element optimization. In this paper, the hydroforming process of 5A02 aluminum alloy variable diameter tube was as the research object. Fuzzy control was used to optimize the loading path, and the fuzzy rule base was established based on FEM. The minimum wall thickness and wall thickness reduction rate were determined as input membership functions, and the axial feeds variable value of the next step was used as output membership functions. The results show that the optimized loading path greatly improves the uniformity of wall thickness and the forming effect compared with the linear loading path. The round corner lamination rate of the tube is 91.2% under the fuzzy control optimized loading path, which was increased by 47.1% and 22.6% compared with linear loading Path 1 and Path 2, respectively. Based on the optimized loading path in the experiment, the minimum wall thickness of the variable diameter tube was 1.32 mm and the maximum thinning rate was 12.4%. The experimental results were consistent with the simulation results, which verified the accuracy of fuzzy control. The research results provide a reference for improving the forming quality of thin-walled tubes and plates.

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Keywords

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