Superplastic metal

Superplastic metals can withstand a large amount of tensile deformation before rupture occurs.

This property of metals has made it possible to develop superplastic shaping.

The shaping of thin superplastic products is, to a certain extent, comparable with the use of thermoplastic polymers.

Some examples:

• deep drawing;
• superplastic inflation;
• superplastic forging;
• superplastic forming.

The creation or appearance of superplastic behaviour results from a combination of the imposed thermodynamic conditions, (the temperature and the deformation rate) and the state of the material, i.e. its microstructure.

The table opposite shows a few of the superplastic properties of some titanium alloys.