Optimum Specimen Geometry for Accurate Tensile Testing of Superplastic Metallic Materials

The high temperatures and large strain limits associated with superplastic materials amplify the possibility of the tensile test outcomes being sensitive to the shape and size of the specimen geometry. In spite of that, the disparities in the specimen geometries used throughout the numerous efforts on characterising this unique class of materials are rather astonishing. There is an urge to evaluate the dependency of a superplastic tensile test on specimen geometry, before a much-needed universally-adopted standard specimen can be designed; which is the main objective of this comprehensive experimental investigation. More than 20 geometries, covering multiple variations in gauge length, gauge width, grip length and grip width values, are tested at identical conditions, and the corresponding material behaviour is compared in terms of deformation uniformity, material flow and the extracted stress/strain curves. The results reveal the influences of each geometrical parameter, as well as their combined effects, and guide the selection of an optimum specimen geometry for accurate and unified tensile testing of superplastic metallic materials.