DYNA JOURNAL ENGINEERING

Key words:

Conformado electromagnético, acero, conductividad superficial, expansión de tubo, Electromagnetic forming, steel, surface conductivity, tube expansion

Article type:

ARTICULO DE INVESTIGACION / RESEARCH ARTICLE

Section:

RESEARCH ARTICLES

The present study addresses a novel solution to the problems posed by low electrical conductivity metallic materials that want to be deformed by Electro Magnetic Forming (EMF). The EMF is a forming process that is part of the so-called "High Speed Deformation." By electromagnetic forming surface transient high intensity magnetic fields are generated over the workpiece to deform that cause the appearance of Lorentz forces. These repulsive forces act instantaneously and for a short period of time between the workpiece and the object that is opposed to it and that generates it, the EMF coil.

One of the drawbacks of the technology is in the fact that the efficiency of the induction phenomenon is proportional to the electrical conductivity of the object to deform. Steels, due to their low conductivity when compared against materials such as copper or aluminum, are little susceptible to be shaped with guarantees.

In this study we have worked with H360LA microalloyed steel with low electrical conductivity. In order to improve the surface conductivity several tubes of the material were electrolytically coated with copper and expanded using the EMF. The tubes with copper coating had an increase of the circumferential deformation of 16% relative to that experienced by the uncoated tubes.