Finite element and experimental analysis of axially compressed plastic tubes

The main objective of this paper is to present a finite element modeling for, and an experimental analysis of the plastic tube inversion process under quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. An ABAQUS \ Explicit 5.8-8 FE code was used for modeling and predicting the deformation modes of tube inversion. A series of quasi-static tests were conducted on an Instron universal testing machine To this end, dies of various shapes with different radii were utilized. A series of quasi-static inversion tests were conducted on plain and slotted plastic tubes. The effect of lubrication as well as rate of inversion were studied with regards to energy absorption. Special attention was focused on several different deformation modes. Of these, deformations involving progressive buckling, folding in axial compression, splitting, and inversion (turning inside-out or outside-in) are described. Generally good agreement is reported between force histories of inversion behavior as predicted by FE models and the experimental results.