Experimental and numerical study of open structural profile bending process

Determination of the bending moment and springback coefficient of thinwalled open structural profiles, as a function of the bending curvature was the main objective of the work. The experiment was carried out using anglesection beams (L-shape) made of St3S common steel and channelsection beams (U-shape) made of PA38 aluminium alloy. Distortion of cross section, which affects bending process of thin wall products, was analyzed and discussed. The MARC computer code was used for the bending process simulation. Experimental and simulated bending characteristics, bending moment as a function of bending curvature as well as springback coefficient as a function of bending radius, were compared.