Characterization and development of an evolutionary yield function for the superconducting niobium sheet

Superconducting radio frequency (SRF) niobium cavities are widely used in high-energy physics to accelerate particle beams in particle accelerators. The performance of SRF cavities is affected by the microstructure and purity of the niobium sheet, surface quality, geometry, etc. Following optimum strain paths in the forming of these cavities can significantly control these parameters. To select these strain paths, however, information about the mechanical behavior, microstructure, and formability of the niobium sheet is required. Due to the lack of information, first an extensive experimental study was carried out to characterize the formability of the niobium sheet, followed by examining the suitability of Hill’s anisotropic yield function to model its plastic behavior. Results from this study showed that, due to intrinsic behavior, it is necessary to evolve the anisotropic coefficients of Hill’s yield function in order to properly model the plastic behavior of the niobium sheet. The accuracy of the newly developed evolutionary yield function was verified by applying it to the modeling of the hydrostatic bulging of the niobium sheet.