An experimental evaluation of induction bending as a method for producing pipe bends with radii ≤2.5D

This paper briefly describes induction bending and highlights some of the challenges associated with this technique in the production of tight bends in thick-walled pipe. The authors then go on to describe how data obtained from production runs and specifically commissioned trial bends were used to examine the factors believed to influence the generation of adverse geometry during bending, and to determine the relative importance of each factor. The paper concludes by examining previously published empirically derived charts and by comparing the results of the trials. The authors conclude from this that the existing charts are deficient when considering extrados wall thinning, i.e. the charts cannot be reliably extrapolated to cover bends which are beyond their scope and, while addressing the issue of wall thinning at the extrados, they ignore all the other types of deformation. © IMechE 2008.