Thickness Uniformity Improvement in Superplastic Hemispherical Shell Using Truncated Conical Blanks: Numerical and Experimental Analysis

Featured Application: Implementation of linearly variable thickness blanks as a practical and easily machinable solution to minimize thinning in SPF hemispherical shells without complex pre-profiling. Achieving thickness uniformity is a critical challenge in superplastic forming (SPF) of hemispherical shells, as standard constant-thickness blanks suffer from excessive thinning at the pole. While the literature suggests using variable thickness blanks to mitigate this issue, existing solutions often rely on complex, non-linear profiles that are expensive and difficult to manufacture. This work proposes a cost-effective, truncated conical blank design (linearly variable thickness) to optimize material distribution. The approach combines Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis and experimental validation on AZ31 magnesium alloy. The study demonstrates that the optimized truncated conical profile (α = 0.2) yields superior structural quality, drastically reducing the thinning factor to 9%. This represents a significant improvement compared to the ~14% thinning observed with conical profile (α = 0) blanks and outperforms constant-thickness blanks (30%). These results demonstrate that a simplified, easily machinable blank geometry can effectively address the thinning problem, providing a practical solution for industrial SPF applications.