Thickness Distribution Investigation of Metallic Bellows Producedby Hydro-Forming Process From Thin Wall Tube of Austenitic Stainless Steel Grade 316L Material

One of the bellows producing methods is hydro forming process. Some factors of hydro forming process such as internal pressure and velocity of die close, can affect final characteristic of produced bellows such as thickness distribution. One of the most important parametersof control in bellows is wall thickness distribution. In this paper, the thickness distribution of produced bellows and the effect of hydro forming process parameterswas investigateusing analytical and experimental methods together with finite element simulation using ABAQUS/Explicit FEM software.The results which are obtained from analytical, experimental and finite element methods showed good agreement with each other. Prediction of thickness distribution of bellows using applied FEM method in this research could be used as a basis of designing a new type of the metal bellows.