Superplastic Dome Forming of Machined Sheets

Abstract

AbstractAn experimental work on the superplastic bulge forming of machined sheets is presented in this study. Unlike the previously employed incremental-iterative method, a reverse deformation model was used to estimate the initial thickness distribution of the machined sheets from which a constant final thickness can be obtained when the shape of the bulged sheet is hemisphere. The reverse deformation modci was obtained by modifying previously-known models, which were based on the axisymmetric membrane and the incremental strain theory.Bulge forming experiments were conducted on machined sheets of Al alloy, A5083, at about 530°C under constant pressure control mode. The result of this simulation to estimate the final constant thickness distribution agreed well with the experiment, and confirmed that the reverse deformation model can be successfully applied in optimizing the thickness distribution of the starting sheets in order to obtain the desired final thickness distribution of the free bulged hemispherical product.