Int. J. Mech. Sci. Vol. 30, No. 12, pp. 877 886, 1988 0020-7403/88 $3.00+.

00
Printed in Great Britain. © 1988 Pergamon Press plc

S I M U L A T I O N O F P Y R A M I D TYPE T H R E E - R O L L
BENDING PROCESS

MING YANG* a n d SUSUMU SHIMAt

*Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606, Japan and t Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606, Japan

(Received 13 December 1987; and in revised form 23 August 1988)

Abstract--A simulation of the deformation of a workpiece with a U-shaped cross section in a three-
roll bending process is performed. Based on the properties of the workpiece, the distribution of
curvature and bending moment are calculated in accordance with the displacement and the rotation
of the rolls. The relationship between the position of the rolls and the final curvature of the
workpiece is obtained. An experiment is performed and the accuracy of the simulation is confirmed.

NOTATION
E Young's modulus
Ht position of neutral axis; refer to Fig. 2
I moment of inertia of area
L arc length of arbitrary point in workpiece measured from point B
M bending moment
R1 radius of side roll, Roll 1
R2 radius of center roll, Roll 2
Ra radius of side roll, Roll 3
Rc relative radius of Roll 2, R 2 + H~
RS relative radius of side roll, R~ - H~ + t or R 3 - H 1 + t
u displacement of center roll
X, Y axes of coordinate
curvature of workpiece
Xd desired curvature
0 deflection angle measured from X-axis

1. I N T R O D U C T I O N
T h e three-roll b e n d i n g process is one a i m e d at p r o d u c i n g m a t e r i a l s with various c u r v a t u r e s
by one set of rolls. The process is s h o w n schematically in Fig. 1. T h e w o r k p i e c e is fed by two
side rolls a n d bent to an a r b i t r a r y c u r v a t u r e by a d j u s t i n g the p o s i t i o n of the center roll; a
series of different p a r t s can be p r o d u c e d with one set of rolls. Therefore, this process is
c o n s i d e r e d to be suitable for small b a t c h p r o d u c t i o n with great variety. H o w e v e r , this
process has n o t been well u n d e r s t o o d a n d the p r e d i c t i o n of the d i s p l a c e m e n t of the center
roll to give a p a r t i c u l a r c u r v a t u r e is very difficult. This m a y be a t t r i b u t e d to the following
features. T h e c u r v a t u r e of the p r o d u c t is d e p e n d e n t on the s p d n g b a c k characteristics of the
w o r k p i e c e m a t e r i a l a n d also on the shape of the cross section; the p o s i t i o n s of the c o n t a c t
p o i n t s between the rolls a n d the w o r k p i e c e shift in a c c o r d a n c e with the d i s p l a c e m e n t of the
center roll a n d hence the d i s t r i b u t i o n of the c u r v a t u r e changes; the value of the displace-
m e n t of the center roll which gives a p a r t i c u l a r c u r v a t u r e is different if the w o r k p i e c e has
different initial curvature.
T h e d e f o r m a t i o n of the w o r k p i e c e in the three-roll b e n d i n g process has been studied
theoretically a n d e x p e r i m e n t a l l y [1, 2]. F u r t h e r m o r e , a u t o m a t i c c o n t r o l systems were
a p p l i e d to this process by H a n s e n [4] a n d H a r d t [5]. These studies are c o n c e r n e d with a
process for p r o d u c i n g c o n s t a n t curvature. Seddeik a n d K e n n e d y investigated the d i s t o r t i o n
of the cross section of h o l l o w s t r u c t u r a l section m e m b e r s in the three-roll b e n d i n g
process [3].
In this study, a s i m u l a t i o n of the d e f o r m a t i o n of a w o r k p i e c e with a U - s h a p e d cross
section in the three-roll b e n d i n g process is performed. The d i s t r i b u t i o n of c u r v a t u r e in the
NS 3 0 : 1 2 - A 877
878 , MING YANG and SUSUMUSHIMA

Y
f~
/

'-
~ ROLL2 WORKPIECE
/

ROLL1 ~ ROLL3
4 LD , Lo "1

FIG. 1. Configuration of pyramid type three-roll bending machine.

"C
F1G. 2. Shape of workpiece.

workpiece and also its change due to the rotation and/or displacement of the rolls are
calculated. Thus, not only the relationship between the final curvature of the workpiece and
the displacement of the center roll is obtained, but also the movement of the center roll for
producing varying curvature is simulated.

2. D E F O R M A T I O N P R O P E R T I E S O F M A T E R I A L

The material for the simulation is an aluminium alloy bar (AA 6063) with a U-shaped
cross section ( W = 10, H = 10, c = 1, t = 1, all in mm, see Fig. 2). The relationship between
the bending moment and the curvature at the neutral axis is shown in Fig. 3(a), while the
change in the position of the neutral axis is shown in Fig. 3(b); these were obtained in the
previous study [6, 7].

3. B E N D I N G P R O C E S S

The pyramid type three-roll bending process is designed to produce bars or plates with
desired curvatures by adjusting the position of the center roll and rotating the two side rolls
to feed the workpiece, as shown in Fig. 1. Let the co-ordinate axes X and Y be taken as in
the figure. A workpiece with an initial curvature is fed into the machine from point A, the
contact point between Roll 1 and the workpiece, and exits at point C, the contact point
between Roll 3 and the workpiece, with a final curvature xf. A maximum bending moment
with a corresponding maximum curvature is reached at point B, the contact point between
the workpiece and the center roll, Roll 2. The distribution of the bending moment along the
arc length of the workpiece is indicated schematically in Fig. 4(a) and the distribution of
the curvature in Fig. 4(b). It is seen that the distribution of the curvature is asymmetric
about contact point B, and contact point B is not positioned exactly on the Y-axis (refer also
to Fig. 1). This is due to the asymmetry of the deformation about the point of maximum
bending moment.
 Simulation of pyramid type three-roll bending process 879

20000

At=: 15000
-E
7
10000
z
'" 5000
o

0
O. 001 O. 002 O. 003 O.004
CURVATURE (I/mm)
(a)
4

--r.

I I
0.001 0.002 0.003 O.004
CURVATURE (I/mm)
(b)
FIG. 3. Relation between bending moment and curvature (a) and shifting of position of neutral axis
upon increment of curvature (b).

Mo

C A _
0 [
(a)

0 L
(bl
FlG. 4. Distribution of bending moment (a) and curvature (b) along workpiece.

The final curvature, which is obtained at contact point C, is obviously a function of the
displacement of the center roll. However, the relationship between the final curvature and
the displacement is affected by many factors, as mentioned in the previous section.

4. SIMULATION OF COMPONENT DEFORMATIONS

The roll bending process may be considered to be a combination of the following two
steps: displacement of the center roll and rotation of the side rolls. This simulation is
performed to consider what results when the side rolls do not rotate during the displace-
ment of the center roll and then what happens when there is no displacement of the center
roll while the rolls are rotating.
We shall start with the case when a workpiece is bent without rotation of the rolls. When
the center roll moves downward, the deformation or the curvature along the workpiece
880 MINGYANGand SUSUMUSHIMA

increases on both sides of contact point B. This is similar to ordinary three-point bending.
During the displacement the contact points between the workpiece and the two side rolls
shift with the change in the distribution of curvature along the workpiece. The distribution
of the curvature, in this case, is symmetrical about point B, as shown in Fig. 5.
Rotation of the rolls without being accompanied by a displacement of the center roll
causes springback in the workpiece between contact points B and C (exit side) while the
deformation between A and B is elastic or elastic-plastic, depending on the position in the
workpiece; the springback in the former continues until the workpiece element reaches the
exit, where the bending moment becomes zero and the curvature reaches its final value.
Since the deformation in one side is different from that in the other, the distribution of the
curvature becomes asymmetric about point B; contact point B also shifts away from the Y-
axis and its position is shown by the broken line in Fig. 6(a). The magnitudes of the
maximum bending moment and of the maximum curvature, which occurred on the Y-axis,
also change according to the rotation of the center roll, the position of which, though, is
fixed (see the solid line in Fig. 6a). Therefore, the distribution of curvature is unsteady until
the shift of the position of contact point B terminates; then, the distribution of the curvature
on the exit side converges to a steady state and a steady value of the final curvature is
obtained at contact point C as shown in Fig. 6(b).

5. DERIVATION OF u-t< RELATION

Based on the previous discussion, the change in the distribution of the curvature due to a
given displacement of the center roll, u, and due to rotation of the rolls can be calculated.
Furthermore, the influence of the change in the position of the contact points between the
rolls and the workpiece on the distribution can be irlvestigated. In what follows, the
distribution of the curvature and of the bending moment are formulated.
Step 1. Change in distribution of the curvature due to u without rotation of the rolls
In this case the process is similar to three-point bending, except that the positions of
contact points A and C shift significantly during the displacement. The distribution can be

c j A

FIG. 5. Distribution of curvature along workpiecein step 1.

c / ~ A E-
[a)

c f
(b)
Flo. 6. Distributionof curvature at beginningof rotation (a) and in steady state (b) along workpiece
in step 2.
 Simulation of pyramid type three-roll bending process 881

calculated based on the following geometrical relations (see Fig. 1):

dO = x" dL (1)
dX = cos 0. dL (2)
dY = s i n 0 . d L , (3)
where L is the arc length along the workpiece measured from point B (where L -- Lo = 0), x
is the curvature of the workpiece, 0 is the angle of deflection and X and Yare the orthogonal
co-ordinates of an arbitrary point on the neutral axis of the workpiece, while Y at point B is
identical to the displacement of the center roll. Co-ordinates (Xi, Y~) of an arbitrary point i
on the neutral axis can be expressed from equations (1)-(3) in terms of x, 0 and L as:

X~=X o+ cos 0 o + x d L dL (4)

O O

Y~ = Yo + sin 0o + KdL aLl (5)

O O

where subscript i refers to point i and 0 to point B.

As seen in these equations, curvature x is not expressed explicitly in terms of X and Y.
Therefore, the following methods and assumptions were employed to calculate K from
(Xi, Y~). The arc length of the workpiece between contact points A and B and between
points B and C were each divided into a number of elements, n, as shown in Fig. 7, as in the
previous study I-31. The calculation of the distribution was substituted by the calculation at
the nodal points of each element. Increments of the moment and of the curvature at the
nodes were calculated by giving a small displacement increment of the center roll. Calcu-
lations for a large displacement could then be performed by an iterative method. The
positions of contact points A and C were corrected in the calculation for each increment.
The details are shown below.
The equations for the relation between co-ordinates (X, Y) and x, 0 and L for nodal point
i can be expressed, from equations (4) and (5), as

Xi-~-.Xi_l~l-fLii_lCOS(Oi_x~-;::_~l(.dL)dL (6,

Y~= Y~- 1 +
f:(;)
i-1
sin 0i- 1 +
i-I
xdL dL.

Small increments in X and Y due to a displacement increment of the center roll, 6u, can be
(7)

expressed by

6Xi = 6 X i - 1 --
f/{(
i-I
sin 0 i_ 1 +
i-I
xdL
)}
60 dL (8)

6 Yi = 6 Yi - 1 + ;{(;
i-1
cos Oi- 1 +
i-I
x dL )}
60 dL. (9)

The increment of the deflection angle 60 in an element can be represented from equation (1)
by

60 = 601_ 1 + 6x dL, Li - 1 <'%L <~ Li, (10)

i-I

FIG. 7. Model for three-roll bending process.

882 MING YANG and SUSUMU SHIMA

where
6x = dx 6M. (11)
dM
dx/dM expresses the inverse of the slope of M - x curve shown in Fig. 3(a).
By applying equation (9) to the nodal points from 1 to n and summing them, the following
equation can be obtained:

6Y,,-6Yo=
i=1 i-I
cos 0i-1+
f/ i-I

The bending moment is assumed to be a linear function of the arc length along the
)}
r d L 60 dL. (12)

workpiece (see Fig. 4a) and is given by

M = M o 1- , (13)

where M o represents the bending moment at i = 0 (this is a maximum moment), and the
increment of the bending moment due to 6u can be represented as

6 M = cSMo(1-~--~). (14)

The curvature is assumed to change linearly with L within each element and can thus be
expressed by

Ki -- Ki - 1
X-L _ ~fl - 1 ( L - L i _ x ) + x , _ I , L,_ I <. L < L`. (15)

Substitution of equations (11) and (14) into (10) gives:

a0=60,_1+
6M [ dx , ( 1 L + L,_~ , L , _ I < L < L , , (16)

where (dK/dM)~ represents an average value of the inverse of the slope of M - x curve in an
element between nodal points i - 1 and i. In equation (16), 60~_ 1 is derived in a similar
manner as in equation (12) as

6 0 i _ 1 = (~00 "-b Omoj~= 1 1 (17)

where 60 o, the deflection angle at point B, is considered to be zero, and equation (16) can be
rewritten as
60 = 6MoO ~, (18)
where
=i~l/dx \ L +Lj_I'~
0¢ j = ~ d - - ~ ) ( ~ - L i _ ~ ) ( 1 L~ .~ ]

+ ~ . Li- x) 1 2L,, , Li- 1 ~ L ~ Li.

Substitution of equation (18) into (12) gives

6Mo = 6 Y " - f Y ° , (19)

Sm
where
Sm = cos 01-1 + x dL Oc dL.
i=1 i-1 i-I

In equation (19), 6Y, is the change in the value of the co-ordinate at point C or point A,
while 6 Yo expresses an increment in the value of the co-ordinate at point B which is identical
to the increment in the displacement of the center roll. The increment of the maximum
bending moment can be expressed as a function of (6Y,-6Yo), by equation (19). The
 Simulation of pyramid type three-roll bending process 883

distribution of the increments of the bending moment can then be obtained by equation (14)
and that of the curvature by equation (11). Furthermore, a change in the deflection angle
can be calculated by equation (18) and the positions of the contact points are thus corrected
in the calculation for each small displacement increment of the center roll. By summing the
increments of the displacement of the center roll and of other variables, the distribution of
the bending moment and the curvature can be obtained.

Step 2. Change in distribution o f the curvature due to rotation o f the rolls

During the rotation of the rolls, the workpiece moves towards the exit with a constant
speed. On the exit side, the workpiece is accompanied by a decrease in the bending moment
and in its curvature because of springback. We shall discuss the shift of contact point B due
to the rotation and the change in the distribution of the curvature on the exit side.
By using the model shown in Fig. 7, the movement of the workpiece in the exit side can be
substituted by the movement of one nodal point to the next one, i.e. point i - 1 to point i.
Since the deformation in this side is elastic, we have the curvature for nodal point i as

Mi- 1 - Mi (20)
xl = x l - l E1

and the change in the curvature is

6xi = x l - x'i, (21)
where x'i is the value of the curvature before the rotation. Because of this change, contact
point B moves away from the Y-axis.
The following boundary conditions are satisfied during the process:
6 II. = - Rssin 8.60. (22)
6 Yo = Resin 8o60 o, (23)
where R c represents relative radius of the center roll and R~ the relative radii of the side rolls.
0. can be represented as a function of 0 o on the exit side by employing equation (10) as
follows:"
60. = 680 + 0~, (24)
where
8s = 6xdL.
i 1

Substitution of equation (24) into (22) and subtraction of (23) from (22) gives:
6 I1, - 6 Yo = - (Rssin 8. + R c s i n S o ) 6 8 o - Rssin 8.8s. (25)
By subtracting equation (25) from (12) and representation of 60 by 680 in the same
manner as equation (24), 680 can be expressed as follows:
R~sin 8.8~ + S"
= - (26)
680 R~sin 8. + Ro sin 8o + S~, '
where
S~, = cos 8~_ 1 + x dL 6r dL + 6x dL dL
i=l i-1 i-x ,/ ~.j=IJLj-1 i-1

S~,= cos 8 1 - : + ~:dL dL.

i=I i-i i-1

680 represents the change in the deflection angle at contact point B; this causes the shifting
of contact point B from the Y-axis (see Fig. 6a).
The change in the magnitude of the maximum bending moment can be calculated in the
same way as in Step 1 by substituting 6 Yo obtained from 680 by equation (23) and 6 I1. by
(22) and (24) into (19); the change in the magnitude of the maximum curvature and the
change in the distribution of the curvature on the entrance side can also be calculated.
884 MING YANG and SUSUMU SHIMA

6. APPLICATION AND DISCUSSION

The calculation of the distribution of the curvature in the two steps discussed in the
previous section can be illustrated as the flowchart shown in Fig. 8. The roll bending
machine considered for the simulation is similar to the one employed in the experiments in
[3]; the radii of two side rolls are R 1 = R 3 = 30 mm, and the radius of the center roll is
R 2 = 50 mm; the distance between Roll 1 and Roll 3, 2LD, is 120 mm. The number of
elements, n, is 40. The simulation was applied to calculate the final curvature of the
workpiece for a given displacement of the center roll. The relationship between the
displacement of the center roll and the final curvature in the steady state can be obtained by
the simulation with several values of the displacement. The calculated relation is shown in
Fig. 9.
In the actual process, the material is bent by either of the following ways when it is
manually operated: before or after the center roll is adjusted to a fixed position, which is

~ nput Kd, 6Y=6Yn-6Y0 j

_I
-I
Compute dM0 from (19), I
6M i from (14)
l
Compute 6<i, 6@i, ~Xi, 6Y i
I from (11), (10), (8), (9
I
Correct contact point
A and C
I
Mi=Mi+6Mi'
Xi=Xi+6Xi
@i=01..+68.i,• Y1
K'=
1.=y.+6y.
g'+6<'
11 i1I

k
YES

I Cumpute K i from (20), 1

6K i from (21) for exit side)
I
I Compute from (20) I
I
I correct contact point I
B, A and C

FIG. 8. Flowchart for simulation.

 S i m u l a t i o n of p y r a m i d t y p e t h r e e - r o l l b e n d i n g p r o c e s s 885

expected to provide the desired curvature, the material is fed. In any case it requires a
certain length of the workpiece until a steady state is reached, as mentioned in the previous
section. In the present simulation, the workpiece was first set into the bending machine and
then an attempt was made to adjust the displacement of the center roll and the rotation of
the side rolls in such a way that the workpiece is bent to the desired curvature with a
minimum length of unsteady zone; it is actually possible to obtain the desired curvature
from the initial position of point B. Figure 10 shows a result of the simulation for obtaining
a constant curvature, where the displacement of the center roll is shown by the solid line,
while the broken line represents the value of the desired curvature, x d. Furthermore, the
displacement of the center roll for producing continuously varying curvature can also be
obtained easily by this simulation. The solid line in Fig. 11 shows the displacement for
producing continuously varied curvature (shown by the broken line).
Some experiments of the roll bending process were performed on a three-roll bending
machine I-3] to check the results by the simulation. The displacement of the center roll in the
experiment was adjusted according to the results of the simulation, such as those shown in
Figs 10 and 11. The results of the experiment are shown in Fig. 12(a) and (b). It is obvious
that the results agree well with those derived from the simulation.

0.004--
: Moximum curvO~ure

i dj
J
0002 -- • / J

O. --

I I
-3 -4
u(mm)

FIG. 9. R e l a t i o n b e t w e e n d i s p l a c e m e n t o f c e n t e r roll a n d c u r v a t u r e o f w o r k p i e c e .

-3

E-2

t
~'CI: .001

,b i0 3b 40
LENGTH (rnm)

FIG. 10. M o v e m e n t o f c e n t e r roll for c o n s t a n t c u r v a t u r e .

-4

tA

0 20 40 60
LENGTH (ram)
FIG. 11. Movement of center roll for continuouslyvaried curvature.
886 MING YANO and SUSUMU SHIMA

0.003
E
E
0.002
I.U O

n-
l--
0.001
X
IX: • ; octuo[ curv.
1 : desired curv.
¢....)
i i
200 ~00 600

LENGTH (mm)
(a)
0.004

E
E 0.003

LI.I
n~ 0.002

r~ 0.001
• : octuo.l curv.
o I : desired curv.

0 I I i i
0 1oo 200 300 400 500

LENGTH ( m m )
(b)
FIG. 12. Comparison of experimental results for constant curvature (a) and for continuously varied
curvature (b).

In this simulation, the curvature and the bending moment are calculated at the nodal
points of each element. Therefore, the number of the elements, n, is a significant factor
influencing the accuracy of the results. Several values of n were employed in the simulation,
and the results show that similar results were obtained for n > 20.

7. C O N C L U S I O N S

For simulating the process of the roll bending, it was considered as a combination of two
movements: displacement of the center roll and rotation of the side rolls. The amounts of
these movements were each divided into small increments, and the increments of the
variables--such as the curvature, the bending moment and the angle of deflection--were
calculated for each step. The change in the contact points between the workpiece and the
rolls during the process was corrected in each increment of the variables. The variables for a
given displacement of the center roll were thus calculated by an iterative method. The
simulated results were compared with experimental results and the accuracy of the
simulation was confirmed.
REFERENCES
1. C. SODA and S. KONISHI, A study of the deformation of beams by a three-roll bending process. J. JSTP 3,
474-484 (1962). (In Japanese.)
2. N. E. HANSEN and O. JANNERUP, Modelling of elastic-plastic bending of beams using a roller bending machine.
Trans. ASME, J. Engng Indust. 101, 304-310 (1979).
3. M. M. SEDDEIK and J. B. KENNEDY, Deformation in hollow structure section (HSS) members subjected to cold-
bending. Int. J. Mech. Sci. 29, 195-212 (1987).
4. E. TROSTMANN,N. E. HANSEN and G. COOK, General scheme for automatic control of continuous bending of
beams. Trans. ASME, J. Dynamic System, Measurement and Control 104, 173-179 (1982).
5. D. E. HARDT, M. A. ROBERTS and K. A. STELSON, Closed-loop shape control of a roll-bending process. Trans.
ASME, J. Dynamic System, Measurement and Control 104, 317-322 (1982).
6. M. YANO, A study of roll bending process and its control. Master's Thesis, Kyoto Univ. (1986).
7. M. YANG, S. SHIMA and T. WATANABE, Model-based control for three-roll bending process of channel bar.
Trans. ASME, J. Engng Indust. (submitted).