Analytical Prediction of Forming Limits for Thermoplastic Tubes

Commodity thermoplastics such as polypropylene and polyethylene are gaining more attention from the automotive industries for applications requiring weight and cost savings. In order to assess the feasibility of employing thermoplastic tubes for subsequent forming into automotive structural components, first an establishment of the forming limits (or the forming limit diagram) for these materials is required. An analytical model, which is able to predict the forming limits for thermoplastic tubes, is useful from the perspective of examining the effect of material properties on the forming of a given shape without numerous experimental forming trials. Knowledge of the forming limits for these materials is also useful in die design as well as process control. Since thermoplastics such as polypropylene are temperature and strain rate dependent, the proposed analytical model would be able to predict the effect of temperature and strain rate on the resulting forming limits for the tube along various loading paths. Preliminary results from the model indicate that thermoplastic tubes formed at elevated temperature undergo larger strains in both the hoop and axial directions of the tube prior to localized necking.