Backofen's rediscovery of superplasticity / Taunton candy-dish die

Al Backofen and grad student Don Avery, early '60s, working titanium and zircaloy through phase transformations to ultrafine grain (1–2 μm). Found m (strain-rate sensitivity) goes up dramatically with fine grain; 1000% elongation possible. Backofen took an aluminum-zinc alloy to Taunton silversmiths, used a candy-dish die, and pulled in a single draw what would normally require four or five operations. Tom keeps the resulting sample as the Smithsonian-grade demonstration.

Superplasticity was rediscovered in the early '60s by a faculty member in this department named Al Backofen. Don Avery was his graduate student. Avery and Backofen were trying to make finer and finer grain size metals. Backofen's specialty was what he called deformation processing. This is his book, 1972. I studied with him — he was the first guy I ever worked with as a sophomore.