Friction Stir Superplasticity for Unitized Structures

This book describes the fundamentals and potential applications of 'friction stir superplasticity for unitized structures'. Conventional superplastic forming of sheets is limited to the thickness of 3 mm because the fine grained starting material is produced by rolling. Friction stir superplasticity has grown rapidly in the last decade because of the effectiveness of microstructural refinement. The thickness of the material remains almost constant, and that allows for forming of thick sheets/plates, which was not possible before. The field has reached a point where designers have opportunities to expand the extent of unitized structures, which are structures in which the traditional primary part and any supporting structures are fabricated as a single unit. With advanced optimization and material considerations, this class of structures can be lighter weight and more efficient, making them less costly, as well as mechanically less complex, reducing areas of possible failure.

Rajiv S. Mishra is a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Site Director, NSF IUCRC for Friction Stir Processing, at the University of North Texas. Dr. Mishra's publication record includes 255 papers with an h-index of 39. Out of these, 10 of his papers have more than 100 citations. He has many 'firsts' in the field of friction stir welding and processing. He co-authored the first review paper (2005), co-edited the first book on the subject (2007), edited/co-edited seven TMS symposium proceedings, and served as guest editor for Viewpoint Set in Scripta Materialia (2008). He also has three patents in this field. He published the first paper on friction stir processing (2000) as a microstructural modification tool.

1. Introduction2. Friction stir microstructure for superplasticity 3. High-strain-rate superplasticity 4. Low temperature superplasticity 5. Superplasticity of cast alloy - an example6. Superplastic deformation mechanism7. Enhanced deformation kinetics8. Cavitation during superplasticity9. Abnormal grain growth10. Superplastic forming of friction stir processed plates11. Potential of extending superplasticity to thick sections12. Summary 13. References