Application of abductive network and FEM to predict an acceptable product on T-shape tube hydroforming process

In this paper, the use of the finite element method in conjunction with abductive network is presented to predict an acceptable product of which the minimum wall thickness and the protrusion height fulfill the industrial demand on the T-shape tube hydroforming process. The minimum wall thickness and the protrusion height are influenced by the process parameters such as the internal pressure and the die fillet radius. Different internal pressures combined with various fillet radii are taken into account as the process parameters in this study. A finite element based code is utilized to investigate the material flow characteristics under different process parameters, and the abductive network is then applied to synthesize the data sets obtained from the numerical simulation, then a prediction model is established. From the prediction model, a suitable range of the process parameters for producing an acceptable T-shape tube that fulfills the industrial demand can be found.