Modeling of Electro Resistance Welding Tube Forming Process

Abstract

During the forming process in an electro resistance welding (ERW) forming line, a flat skelp evolves from a flat surface to a round shape, enforced by a series of roll stages. The formed
round shape determines, together with welding parameters, the obtained weld and tube quality. In order to improve the process and achieve a better understanding of the skelp evolution towards the welding station, a finite element model has been developed. The process has been usually studied with analytical techniques and “trial and error” plant testing, while the use of finite element in modeling this type of process is quite recent. Process complexity imposes great computing efforts and heavy pre and post processing work.
A finite element model has been proposed to predict the skelp behavior along the critical stages of the forming line. Large displacement, contact algorithms and J2 material models have been used in the problem description. Agreement with plant measurements, computational speed and robustness are the main achieved goals.