Determination of the force necessary by experiment to bend schedule 40 pipe

Abstract

The tube bending process consists of plastically deforming the material by applying bending loads to the element until its yielding is overcome. Mechanical bending tests help determine the properties of a material, properties that are used to design the various equipment needed. Furthermore, with this type of test, the maximum load that an element subjected to this test can withstand can be determined. In this Project specifically, mechanical tube bending tests will be carried out. This study aims to determine the force that exceeds the elastic limit of a 4130 steel tube, schedule 40 and 25 mm in diameter. To carry out this process it is necessary to design specimens with the characteristics specified in the ISO 8491 standard. This is done in support of the BAJA SAE UAM-A team, for its participation in the competition of the same name. Additionally, to carry out the mechanical test, adaptations had to be made to the head of the Instron machine, as well as to design supports that would allow the specimen to be held for the study. After carrying out the test, the mechanical properties of the material were obtained and with this the force necessary to bend the tube without producing any defect was determined. This study will serve as a basis for carrying out in future works the mechanical design of a pipe bender powered by a hydraulic system, which will serve as support to perform pipe bending for the BAJA SAE contest.