Indirect Versus Direct Heating of Sheet Materials: Superplastic Forming and Diffusion Bonding Using Lasers

    Authors

    A. Jocelyn; A. Kar; A. Fanourakis; T. Flower; M. Ackerman; A. Keevil;J. Way

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    J. Mater. Eng. Perform.

    Keywords

    laser cleaning; laser heating; laser induced superplasticity; SPF; SPF/DB; titanium; Materials Science, Multidisciplinary

    Abstract

    Many from within manufacturing industry consider superplastic forming (SPF) to be 'high tech', but it is often criticized as too complicated, expensive, slow and, in general, an unstable process when compared to other methods of manipulating sheet materials. Perhaps, the fundamental cause of this negative perception of SPF, and also of diffusion bonding (DB), is the fact that the current process of SPF/DB relies on indirect sources of heating to produce the conditions necessary for the material to be formed. Thus, heat is usually derived from the electrically heated platens of hydraulic presses, to a lesser extent from within furnaces and, sometimes, from heaters imbedded in ceramic moulds. Recent evaluations of these isothermal methods suggest they are slow, thermally inefficient and inappropriate for the process. In contrast, direct heating of only the material to be formed by modern, electrically efficient, lasers could transform SPF/DB into the first choice of designers in aerospace, automotive, marine, medical, architecture and leisure industries. Furthermore, 'variable temperature' direct heating which, in theory, is possible with a laser beam(s) may provide a means to control material thickness distribution, a goal of enormous importance as fuel efficient, lightweight structures for transportation systems are universally sought. This paper compares, and contrasts, the two systems and suggests how a change to laser heating might be achieved.

    Journal Title

    Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

    Volume

    19

    Issue/Number

    4

    Publication Date

    1-1-2010

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    527

    Last Page

    532

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000277712600011

    ISSN

    1059-9495

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