HIGH TEMPERATURE CERAMIC DIES FOR SUPERPLASTIC FORMING

SUPERPLASTIC FORMING (SPF) IS AN ADVANCING METHOD FOR THE FABRICATION OF COMPLEX METAL SHAPES FROM ALUMINUM AND TITANIUM ALLOYS AS WELL AS NEW SPECIALTY ALLOYS. THE UTILIZATION OF SPF RESULTS IN COMPLEX SHAPES MADE OF FEWER PARTS, HENCE, LIGHTER WEIGHT, IMPROVED PROPERTIES AND EXTENSIVE COST SAVINGS OVERALL. HIGH TEMPERATURE ALLOY FABRICATION WILL REQUIRE DIES CAPABLE OF WITHSTANDING TEMPERATURES OF 1100 DEGREES CENTIGRADE WITH MINIMAL DEGRADATION AND RETENTION OF PHYSICAL INTEGRITY. THE PRESENT DIE MATERIALS WILL NOT MEET THESE REQUIREMENT, THUS THE ADVANCEMENT OF SPF AS A METALS FORMING METHOD IS HINDERED. REFRACTORY CERAMIC MATERIALS ARE IDEAL CANDIDATESFOR THIS APPLICATION. THE FEASIBILITY OF UTILIZING A REFRACTORY CERAMIC MATERIAL FOR HIGH TEMPERATURE SPF DIES WILL BE INVESTIGATED. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH INVOLVES AN ANALYSIS OF THE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR SPF TOOLING, AN INVESTIGATION OF SEVERAL POSSIBLE CANDIDATE MATERIALS AND EVALUATION OF THEIR POTENTIAL TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ADVANCED SPF OF NEW HIGH TEMPERATURE METAL ALLOYS. THE PROJECT GOAL IS THE IDENTIFICATION OF A REFRACTORY CERAMIC MATERIAL FOR DIES THAT WILL MEET THE DETERMINED REQUIREMENTS AND ULTIMATELY BE EMPLOYED IN THE FUTURE DESIGN OF AN INTEGRALLYHEATED CERAMIC DIE SYSTEM FOR SUPERPLASTIC FORMING OF METALS.