On the thinning variation of a superplastically formed titanium alloy spherical domes

The gas pressure bulging of metal sheets has become an important forming method. As the bulging process progresses, significant thinning in the sheet material becomes obvious. A prior knowledge about non-uniform thinning in the product after forming helps the designer in the selection of initial blank thickness. This paper presents a simple analytical procedure for obtaining the thinning variation of a superplastically formed Ti alloy spherical dome. The procedure is validated with the existing measured data.