Forming limit diagram of a superplastic formable AA5083 aluminum alloy

In this paper two analytical models have been used for bulging superplastic materials using circular and elliptical draw rings. The experiments have been carried out with an in-house built equipment in order to verify the theoretical models and to determine the forming limit diagram for a superplastic aluminum alloy AA5083 at a specific forming temperature and strain rate. The pressure-time paths determined from the analytical models were also verified by FEM process simulations. Finally, further FEM process simulations have been done in order to determine the pressure-time path for the superplastic forming process of an automotive body part. The part, a license pocket plate of the rear deck lid, has been superplasticaly formed using the matrice forming technique.