Numerical simulation of shell hydroforming of precipitation-hardened stainless steel
Subhrajit Chand, Ravi Kumar Digavalli, Hariharan Krishnaswamy, Anoop C.R., Narayana Murty S.V.S.
Abstract. Precipitation-hardened stainless steel sheets are used in manufacturing parts for marine applications, aerospace research, chemical processing, and medical devices by sheet metal forming processes. Problems such as highly non-uniform strain distribution, high friction and excessive localized thinning are common in conventional forming, which lead to early failure. This study explores the feasibility of the shell hydroforming process as an alternate method to the conventional stretch forming of a hollow conical section made of 15-5 PH stainless steel sheets. The hydroforming process’s numerical simulation methodology was validated by hydraulic bulge test experiments through which the maximum bulge height and the peak fluid pressure were determined. It was observed that a maximum fluid pressure of 31 MPa can be safely applied for the stretch forming of the sheets. Using the same methodology, hydroforming simulations to form the conical shell were carried out. It was found that hydroforming is a potential alternate process for forming the required bell-shaped structure in a single stage without failure and excessive thinning.
Keywords
Hydroforming, PH Stainless Steel, Formability, Simulation
Published online 5/7/2025, 8 pages
Copyright © 2025 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Subhrajit Chand, Ravi Kumar Digavalli, Hariharan Krishnaswamy, Anoop C.R., Narayana Murty S.V.S., Numerical simulation of shell hydroforming of precipitation-hardened stainless steel, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 54, pp 2175-2182, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903599-234
The article was published as article 234 of the book Material Forming
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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