Constitutive behavior of superplastic materials

Superplasticity is an intriguing inelastic process in solid materials with deformation upto several thousand percent. Forming sheet and bulk materials using superplastic forming has become an established manufacturing method in aerospace and lately in other industries. Developing the right constitutive behavior is important not only for modeling the process for manufacturing by engineering mechanicians but for choosing the right composition and processing for material scientists. Such an ideal constitutive equation has been eluding the analysts so far. This paper examines some of the fundamental misgivings about the origin of inelastic process in superplasticity compared to other well known deformation processes. Also an attempt is made to understand the basic characteristics of superplastic inelastic deformation at macroscopic, mesoscopic and atomic levels. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.