Elastomer forming of cross junction

An experimental machine using split die configuration has been developed for the forming of a junction on thin walled metal tubes. This was achieved by applying loading-unloading cycles to the tube and the elastomer simultaneously. The process of the operation is governed by the so called “clearance height” which controls the relationship between the displaced volume of the elastomer and the reduced length of the tube. An approximate theoretical analysis, using upper-bound theory is presented for predicting the total forming load.