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From the viewpoint of applying ERW (Electric Resistance Welded) steel tubes for automotive structural parts by means of hydroforming technology, a series of free-bulge experiments is carried out. Four kinds of mild and high tensile strength steel tubes are provided. Initial stress ratio, αm that represents an axial force level is adopted as an experimental parameter. Expansion limit increases with decrease of αm. The bulge shape and the expansion limit are also affected by the mechanical properties of tubes. The strain hardening property in bulge deformation is approximated by a parabolic equation.