Some guidelines for promoting high temperature deformation of metallic alloys

Capacity to reach large deformation at high temperature is an important issue in many forming processes of metallic alloys. It is well known that a low value of the stress exponent (or a concomitant high value of the strain rate sensitivity parameter) is a key point for controlling resistance to necking. A first way for decreasing the stress exponent is to get superplastic properties but it frequently requires dealing with fine microstructures which can be difficult to produce and to preserve. Moreover, in the case of single phase alloys, like aluminum or magnesium alloys, superplastic deformation generally induces damage which can result in premature fracture or damaged components after forming. The aim of this paper is to give some guidelines for promoting high temperature deformation of metallic alloys, with a particular attention given to superplastic forming. The possibility to reduce the temperature of superplastic forming (SPF) for titanium alloys, the capacity to get a better understanding of the specificities of damage process in the case of superplastic deformation and the ability to get large strains to fracture avoiding the production of fine grains before strain are more specifically discussed.