Control of Tube Profile in Electromagnetic Forming Using a Metallic Ring

Achieving flexible control of the workpiece profile is a challenging task in electromagnetic forming (EMF). This paper investigates an EMF system with an additional metallic ring to achieve high uniformity deformation and control the forming profile of tubes. Experiments and simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed EMF system, and the deformation behavior of AA6061-O aluminum alloy tubes is also analyzed. Results show that placing the ring around the center of the coil reduces the radial Lorentz force on the tube in the covered region, and improves deformation uniformity by approximately 2.2 times compared to the conventional EMF system without a ring. Additionally, it is observed that by adjusting the coil’s discharge voltage and the length of the ring, the deformation profile of the tube can be regulated, demonstrating the applicability and flexibility of the developed EMF system. Overall, this work demonstrates the role of the metallic ring in regulating the distribution of Lorentz forces and tube deformation in the EMF process, which is of significance to expanding the applications of EMF.