Surface modelling and mesh generation for simulating superplastic forming

This paper presents an approach which enables surface modelling, mesh generation and the Finite Element (FE) analysis to be integrated together to simulate superplastic forming processes for complex shaped components. Techniques have been developed to generate an FE mesh over non-four-sided surface areas, the boundaries of which are Bézier curves of arbitrary degree m, using a consistent expression. Theoretical evidence is given to determine the number of Bézier triangular patches required for accurately re-constructing die surfaces within a commercial FE solver. The techniques developed have been successfully used in determining the process parameters for forming a 3D rectangular box.