Analysis of Tube Drawing Process – A Finite Element Approach

Abstract

In this paper the effect of die semi angle on drawing load in cold tube drawing has been investigated numerically using the finite element method. The equation governing the stress distribution was derived and solved using Galerkin finite element method. An isoparametric formulation for the governing equation was utilized along with C0 cubic isoparametric element. Numerical experimentation showed that the results obtained using the present method is admirable close to the analytical solution and more accurate than finite difference solution. Having established the accuracy of the present solution method, parametric studies were carried out to show the effect of die semi angle on the drawing load for different tube drawing processes. The analysis was carried out using a Visual Basic.Net program developed by the authors. The results are presented in both graphical and tabular forms.