The present study consists of two parts. The first part supplies an exact semi-analytical solution for a general model of rigid plastic strain hardening material at large strains. The second part applies this solution to tube hydroforming design. The solution provides stress and velocity fields in a hollow cylinder subject to simultaneous expansion and elongation/contraction. No restriction is imposed on the hardening law. A numerical method is only required to evaluate ordinary integrals. The solution is facilitated using Lagrangian coordinates. The second part of the paper is regarded as an alternative to the finite element design of tube hydroforming processes, restricted to rather simple final shapes. An advantage of this approach is that the hardening law is not required for calculating many process parameters. Therefore, the corresponding design is universally valid for all strain hardening materials if these parameters are of concern. In particular, the prediction of fracture initiation at the outer surface is independent of the hardening law for widely used ductile fracture criteria. The inner pressure is the only essential process parameter whose value is controlled by the hardening law.
Keywords: large strain; semi-analytical solution; strain hardening; tube hydroforming.