Study of the buckling mechanism in laser tube forming

The buckling mechanism of a thin metal tube during laser forming was investigated numerically and experimentally in this study. Metal tubes made of 304 stainless steel were heated by a CO2 Gaussian laser beam, which induced the buckling phenomenon on the tube surface due to elastic-plastic deformation. This uncoupled thermal-mechanical problem was solved using a three-dimensional finite element method and was subsequently satisfactorily verified with displacement measurements. The transient bending angle and residual stress of the thin metal tube under specific operation conditions were also studied.