An experimental investigation into the formability of hydroforming 5A02 Al-tubes at elevated temperature

The influence of temperature on the mechanical properties of 5A02 aluminum tube was investigated by uni-axial tensile test. The hydrobulge test was also carried out to characterize the formability of 5A02 aluminum tube at elevated temperature. The results of both uni-axial tensile tests and hydrobulge tests show the same changing tendency of the formability of aluminum tube at elevated temperature. The appropriate hydroforming temperature of 5A02 aluminum tube is about 200–230 °C. The reasons for the considerable difference between the formability characterized by the two different test methods are discussed.