Analytical Design of a Novel Clamp-On Type Actuator Coil for Magnetic Pulse Forming of Tubular Structures

Electromagnetic (EM) forming of tubular workpieces using a pulsed power source is gaining acceptance in the non-conventional metal forming area. It finds extensive use in various industries for metal joining, EM crimping of wires, tube bulging for manufacturing of automotive parts, and so on. This article describes an analytical design and EM analysis of a novel clamp-on type uniform pressure EM actuator that works based on the primary induced currents. A fast analytical method has been developed and used for solving the EM fields instead of the conventional coupled numerical models based on the finite element method (FEM) technique. The agile manufacturing of the workpieces requires the workpiece assembly to be easily removed and replaced. However, the finished assembly is such that it is impractical to remove it out of the conventional helical actuator in most of the industrial applications. The designed actuator offers a substantial improvement over the conventional helical actuators in terms of flexibility of operation, reduced stress on the coil, reusability, robustness, and a uniform pressure profile on the workpiece. In addition, this article also identifies important process parameters involved in the novel actuator design. It also develops an analytical model to compare the performance of the novel proposed actuator with a conventional helical actuator for a tube deformation process.