Tube bending is one of the branches of the metal forming process used in different
application areas like manufacturing sectors, automobile, energy, and construction
industries. In engineering applications, the bending deformations of thin-walled tubes
mostly are under three-point loading, and this is an important energy absorption
mechanism, especially in crash events. In this study, the bending behavior of a St-37
thin-walled rectangular profile is investigated experimentally and numerically. Firstly,
three-point bending tests are conducted with two different span distances
between supports to investigate the effect of span distance. Dynaform –
LsDyna commercial software is used for finite element validations. Prediction
accuracy of plasticity modeling in simulations is evaluated by employing
three different plasticity models: power law, Hill-48, and Yoshida–Uemori.
Finite element results are analyzed by performing shape deviation analyses to
compare the whole body of the experimental surfaces, including springback
distribution.
