Finite element analysis of superplastic blow-forming of Ti-6Al-4V sheet into closed ellip-cylindrical die

Abstract

Utilizing commercial DEFORM™ 3D finite element (FE) software, this study performs a series of numerical simulations to investigate the superplastic blow-forming of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy into a closed ellip-cylindrical die. In performing the simulations, it is assumed that the die is a rigid body and the titanium alloy sheet is a rigid-plastic material with homogeneous and isotropic properties. The simulations focus specifically on the respective effects of the shear friction factor, the die entry radius, the die height and the die's short-axis length on the thickness, effective stress, effective strain and critical damage distributions within the blow-formed product. Overall, the simulation results confirm the suitability of the DEFORM™ 3D software for modelling the superplastic blow-forming of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy.