Superplasticity in Metals and Ceramics [Paperback]

A materials engineering monograph in the Cambridge Solid State Science Series, first published in 1997.Most materials fracture with relatively little plastic deformation. However, there is a class of materials, known as superplastic materials, that can undergo enormous deformation. The types of materials in which superplasticity is found now includes metals, metallic composites, intermetallics and ceramics. The ability of materials to exhibit superplasticity is of significant technological interest because complex shapes can be made directly, thereby avoiding complicated and costly joining and machine steps. The applications of superplastic formations were originally limited to the aerospace industry, but it has recently been expanded to include the automobile industries as a result of breakthroughs in the range of materials that can be made superplastic and the rate at which the phenomenon takes place.Most materials fracture with relatively little plastic deformation. However, there is a class of materials, known as superplastic materials, that can undergo enormous deformation. The types of materials in which superplasticity is found now includes metals, metallic composites, intermetallics and ceramics. The ability of materials to exhibit superplasticity is of significant technological interest because complex shapes can be made directly, thereby avoiding complicated and costly joining and machine steps. The applications of superplastic formations were originally limited to the aerospace industry, but it has recently been expanded to include the automobile industries as a result of breakthroughs in the range of materials that can be made superplastic and the rate at which the phenomenon takes place.This book describes advances in the field of superplasticity, the ability of certain materials to undergo very large tensile strains. This phenomenon has increasing commercial applications, but also presents a fascinating scientific challenge in attempts to underslƒN