a study on main and lateral bending angles in laser tube bending process

Laser bending process of a circular tube made of mild steel was investigated with experimental tests and finite element simulations. the effects of main process parameters such as laser output power, laser scanning speed, and laser beam diameter on the main and lateral bending angles of laser-bent tube were studied. the experimental tests were performed with a continuous co_2 laser. the numerical simulations were carried out with abaqus/standard technique. the finite element simulations were compared with experimental measurements by adjusting the absorption and heat transfer coefficients of the heat flux in the numerical simulations and comparing the obtained temperature profiles with experimental results. the accuracy of numerical simulations was proved by comparing the numerical results with experimental measurements. the obtained experimental and numerical results showed that increase in the laser output power leads to an increase in the main and lateral bending angles. moreover, the results proved that the main and lateral bending angles increased with decreasing the laser scanning speed and laser beam diameter.