Method to produce superplastically formed titanium alloy components

Abstract

Processes for producing titanium alloy SPF/DB components, particularly structural panels, are provided. In one embodiment, the process comprises providing rapidly solidified titanium alloy sheetstock, providing a plurality of rapidly solidified titanium alloy ribbons or strips, forming the ribbons into waveform structures, assembling a plurality of these waveform structures to produce a honeycomb core, positioning this core between face sheets, and bonding the core to the face sheets. In another embodiment the process comprises providing rapidly solidified titanium alloy sheetstock, superplastically forming at least one piece of sheetstock into a shaped piece having spaced apart, parallel bonding regions, positioning this shaped piece between two face sheets, and bonding the shaped piece to each face sheet. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the process comprises providing rapidly solidified titanium alloy sheetstock, applying a diffusion bond-inhibiting material in a desired pattern to at least one piece of sheetstock, assembling the sheetstock having the bond-inhibiting pattern thereon with at least one further piece of sheetstock, diffusion bonding this assembly, and superplastically forming the bonded assembly by introducing an inert gas into the region defined by the bond-inhibiting material.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.