Aircraft are typically designed as frame structures using lightweight materials such as fiber reinforced plastics, titanium or aluminum alloys. Depending on the application, the load capacity of the struts used ranges from a few kilonewtons to more than 250 kN. The connections between the struts and the connectors are often complex, resulting in high costs for the assembled components. Joining by electromagnetic forming (EMF) offers a promising alternative to make connections much simpler, especially when aluminum tube struts are used.

The objective of this research is to simulate a pushorming operation for the manufacturing of copper tube elbows using the finite element method. This model may be useful in the design of tooling. The influences of lubricant type, the tube blank material, and a minute surface defect are considered in the model. Tensile tests of annealed copper specimens are conducted to derive stress-strain data, defining the material behavior of the copper tube blank. In addition, friction tests are performed to obtain static and dynamic friction coefficients for a wet and dry lubricant types, which are used in the forming process. The finite element study of the forming operation has proven to require a considerable amount of time for modeling and processing. The verification examples and the pushorming models demonstrate the ability of the finite element program to include: contact with friction, the actuating of hydraulically controlled components, buckling, and nonlinearity.

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