superplasticadj.n.

1899 F. Neilson Manabozo p. vi Primitive ideas..not yet..scientifically embellished by the superplastic powers of the savant or narrator.

1933 India-rubber Jrnl. 15 July 11/2 The softened rubber itself remains super-plastic for practically an indefinite period.

1947 Chem. Abstr. 41 2375 The superplastic alloy cannot be a mixt. of solid solns. of Al and Zn.

1970 New Scientist 12 Mar. 504/2 One of the most suitable titanium alloys—Ti-318—is superplastic at 930°C if correctly worked, and can be made to stretch and flow like plastic.

1978 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 126 689/1 It is possible that the single heat cycle combination of superplastic forming and diffusion bonding will revolutionize the fabrication of titanium sheet structures for aircraft applications.

2005 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 21 Nov. d10/1 To reach a superplastic state, aluminum is heated to 850-900 degrees Fahrenheit, enough to soften the metal but still hundreds of degrees less than its melting point.

1930 Jrnl. Amer. Ceramic Soc. 13 223 The first attempt in improving lining service was the use of plastic material to apply against the brick. Following this, superplastics were used such as silicon carbide base materials and other high melting point refractories.

1969 New Scientist 2 Jan. 22/2 This metal..behaves like a superplastic at room temperature—it can be stretched by a factor of about 10 in one direction without breaking.

1990 New Scientist 14 Apr. 28/3 Researchers..have discovered a new ceramic that at high temperatures acts as a ‘superplastic’—it will extend to great lengths without breaking when stretched.

2001 K. A. Padmanabham et al. Superplastic Flow ii. 32 The mechanical response of superplastics can be investigated using model alloys.

1967 Scripta Metallurgica 1 20 A specimen that was initially being strained superplastically would revert to normal deformation.

2001 R. W. Cahn Coming of Materials Sci. iv. 180 A simple Al-Cu eutectic alloy..could be superplastically formed at a reasonably fast strain rate.