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Integrated hydrobulging of prolate ellipsoids from preforms with multiple thicknesses

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Abstract

The integrated hydrobulging of stainless-steel prolate ellipsoids from preforms with two thicknesses was investigated. The produced ellipsoids were closed with two 16 mm thick closures and had nominal semiminor and semimajor axes of 89 and 125 mm, respectively. The ellipsoidal preforms comprised eight conical segments inscribed inside the target perfect ellipsoid. The four end and middle segments of the preforms had nominal thicknesses of 0.67 and 0.83 mm, respectively. The hydrobulging of these preforms was explored analytically and numerically and was compared with that of prolate ellipsoids with constant thickness. Two nominally identical ellipsoidal preforms were fabricated, measured, and hydrobulged to confirm the theoretical predictions. The results indicated that varying the preform thicknesses is an efficient method of overcoming insufficient hydrobulging of the ends of prolate ellipsoids in other methods. Moreover, hydrobulging instability can be effectively monitored by measuring geometric dimensions, such as axial height.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers: 52071160 and 52071203). And the authors would like to express their gratitude for the support of Fishery Engineering and Equipment Innovation Team of Shanghai High-level Local University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, 212003, China

    Jian Zhang, Yinhui Tang & Ming Zhan

  2. Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hadal Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China

    Fang Wang

  3. College of Mechanical Engineering, Saitama Institute of Technology, Saitama, 369-0293, Japan

    Xilu Zhao

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  1. Jian Zhang
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  2. Yinhui Tang
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  3. Ming Zhan
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  4. Fang Wang
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Contributions

Jian Zhang: supervision, project administration, writing—original draft, conceptualization; Yinhui Tang: data curation, modeling and analysis; Ming Zhan: conceptualization, methodology; Fang Wang: project administration, supervision, writing—reviewing and editing; Xilu Zhao: validation.

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Correspondence to Fang Wang.

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Zhang, J., Tang, Y., Zhan, M. et al. Integrated hydrobulging of prolate ellipsoids from preforms with multiple thicknesses. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 127, 401–418 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-023-11412-2

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