The Forming Die Design and Experimental Research of CFETR Vacuum Vessel Shells

Vacuum vessel (VV) is the main component of the China fusion engineering test reactor. Shell forming is relatively in the earliest phase, one of the most important processes during VV manufacturing. The profile errors caused by spring back of shells at room temperature will directly influence the subsequent manufacturing and experimental studies, so a set of dies, whose profiles can be easily revised, has been designed based on the spring-back theory. The empirical formula has been used to calculate the theoretic die profile value, which is mostly determined by the mechanical properties of 316LN stainless steel. Then, choosing four relevant values to simulate the forming process in which the optimal profile errors of shell must be controlled within 1.5 mm. The optimal dimensional value of the dies has been confirmed to guide the forming experimental study. After the experiment, the actual profile errors, thickness reduction, maximum spring back, maximum deformation rate, and the surface residual stress have been measured, and those data are an accurate indicator from the finite element analysis, also verifying the reasonability of the manufacturing process in turn.