Finite Element Modeling and Numerical Simulation of Superplastic forming of 8090 Al-Li alloy in a rectangular die

Superplasticity is a physical phenomenon associated with certain polycrystalline materials which exhibit very high tensile elongation prior to fracture under particular conditions of strain rate and temperature. Aluminium alloy undergoes superplastic elongation in the order of a few thousands percent in elongation with low flow stresses. Superplastic forming processes can provide products with integral structure, light weight and superior strength, all of which are of particular importance for aerospace and automotive components. In the present study an analytical model was developed for a rectangular component by considering constant strain rate. This paper attempts to explore the superplastic behaviors of 8090 Al-Li alloy sheet into a rectangular die using blow forming technique. This has been done by a simple theoretical model and by numerical simulation using standard finite element code ABAQUS. The numerical and analytical results agree reasonably well for both the analytical and theoretical values with regard to variation in pressure and time.