Abstract:A novel forming method of nickel based super-alloy thin-walled part with variable diameter sections was proposed by using inner and outer pressure with the visco-elasto-plastic pressure-carrying medium at room temperature, and the principle of the method was provided. Experiments and FE simulations were carried out to analyze the deformation characteristics for the part with larger variable diameter ratio (35%). The results show that visco-elasto-plastic pressure-carrying medium can meet the requirements of the room-temperature deformation condition for nickel based super-alloy sheet. The inner and outer pressure forming with the visco-elasto-plastic pressure-carrying medium can meet the requirements of dimensional accuracy for the thin-walled part with variable diameter sections. The thinning of wall-thickness is less than 4%. This method provides a new approach for near-net shape forming of nickel based super-alloy thin-walled parts with variable diameter sections.

Key words: nickel based super-alloy; thin-walled part; variable diameter sections; visco-elasto-plastic medium; inner and outer pressure forming