模具外角和内角对等通道角挤压的影响的有限元分析

等通道角挤压(ECAE)工艺受模具外角和模具内角的影响较大,为此利用有限元分析方法对该工艺过程进行了模拟。结果表明:模具外角主要影响等效应变分布的均匀性,对等效应变值的大小影响不大;模具内角主要影响等效应变值的大小,对等效应变分布的均匀性影响较模具外角小;随着模具外角的逐渐增大,模具拐角变形区域逐渐变大,变形机理由纯剪切变形变为剪切变形和弯曲变形相结合的复合变形;随着模具内角的逐渐增大,模具拐角变形区域基本保持不变,变形机理由纯剪切变形变为弯曲变形;模具内角较模具外角对加载载荷的影响更为显著。

模具外角对等通道转角挤压纯铝变形过程的影响

模具外角对等通道转角挤压(ECAE)变形过程影响较大,文章利用有限元软件(MSC.Marc)模拟研究了模具外角对ECAE过程中等效应变、变形机理的影响。模拟结果表明,模具外角Ψ>0°～30°的范围内,等效应变的分布较为均匀;当模具外角Ψ>30°时,等效应变的分布越来越不均匀;当模具外角Ψ=0°～90°范围内逐渐增大时,试样的变形机理由单一剪切变形逐渐变为剪切变形与弯曲变形相结合的复合变形行为。为了验证模拟结果,对大尺寸纯铝进行了等通道转角挤压实验(模具内角Ф=90°,模具外角Ψ=30°),纯铝实验应变值的分布与大小和模拟应变值的分布与大小近似吻合。由光学显微组织可知,经ECAE挤压一次后,变形试样组织较为均匀,晶粒得到一定程度细化。

Aging behavior and mechanical properties of 6013 aluminum alloy processed by severe plastic deformation

Structural features, aging behavior, precipitation kinetics and mechanical properties of a 6013 Al–Mg–Si aluminum alloy subjected to equal channel angular pressing （ECAP） at different temperatures were comparatively investigated with that in conventional static aging by quantitative X-ray diffraction （XRD） measurements, differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） and tensile tests. Average grain sizes measured by XRD are in the range of 66-112 nm while the average dislocation density is in the range of 1.20×10^14-1.70×10^14 m^-2 in the deformed alloy. The DSC analysis reveals that the precipitation kinetics in the deformed alloy is much faster as compared with the peak-aged sample due to the smaller grains and higher dislocation density developed after ECAP. Both the yield strength （YS） and ultimate tensile strength （UTS） are dramatically increased in all the ECAP samples as compared with the undeformed counterparts. The maximum strength appears in the samples ECAP treated at room temperature and the maximum YS is about 1.6 times that of the statically peak-aged sample. The very high strength in the ECAP alloy is suggested to be related to the grain size strengthening and dislocation strengthening, as well as the precipitation strengthening contributing from the dynamic precipitation during ECAP.

Equal channel angular extrusion of NiTi shape memory alloy tube

As a new attempt, equal channel angular extrusion （ECAE） of nickel-titanium shape memory alloy （NiTi SMA） tube was investigated by means of process experiment, finite element method （FEM） and microscopy. NiTi SMA tube with the steel core in it was inserted into the steel can during ECAE of NiTi SMA tube. Based on rigid-viscoplastic FEM, multiple coupled boundary conditions and multiple constitutive models were used for finite element simulation of ECAE of NiTi SMA tube, where the effective stress field, the effective strain field and the velocity field were obtained. Finite element simulation results are in good accordance with the experimental ones. Finite element simulation results reveal that the velocity field shows the minimum value in the corner of NiTi SMA tube, where severe shear deformation occurs. Microstructural observation results reveal that severe plastic deformation leads to a certain grain orientation as well as occurrence of substructures in the grain interior and dynamic recovery occurs during ECAE of NiTi SMA tube. ECAE of NiTi SMA tube provides a new approach to manufacturing ultrafine-grained NiTi SMA tube.

Effect of processing route on grain refinement in pure copper processed by equal channel angular extrusion

An experimental study of the microstructures in pure copper billets processed by 8 passes of equal channel angular extrusion （ECAE） via an extended range of processing routes with a 90° die is carried out. Each processing route is defined according to the inter-pass billet rotation angle （χ）, which varies from 0° to 180°. According to the generation of high-angle boundaries and reduction of grain size by electron backscatter diffraction （EBSD） measurements, the grain refinement is found to be most efficient for route with χ=90°and least efficient with χ=180°, among the seven routes studied. This trend is supported by supplementary transmission electron microscopy （TEM） measurements. Comparison of the EBSD and TEM data reveals the importance of considering the non-equiaxity of grain structures in quantitative assessment of microstructural differences in ECAE-processed materials.

Application of crystal plasticity modeling in equal channel angular extrusion

Some applications of crystal plasticity modeling in equal channel angular extrusion（ECAE） of face-centered cubic metals were highlighted.The results show that such simulations can elucidate the dependency of grain refinement efficiency on processing route and the directionality of substructure development,which cannot be explained by theories that consider only the macroscopic deformation behavior.They can also capture satisfactorily the orientation stability and texture evolution under various processing conditions.It is demonstrated that crystal plasticity models are useful tools in exploring the crystallographic nature of grain deformation and associated behavior that are overlooked or sometimes erroneously interpreted by existing phenomenological theories.

Severe plastic deformation of commercially pure aluminum using novel equal channel angular expansion extrusion with spherical cavity

Equal channel angular expansion extrusion with spherical cavity(ECAEE-SC)was introduced as a novel severe plastic deformation(SPD)technique,which is capable of imposing large plastic strain and intrinsic back-pressure on the processed billet.The plastic deformation behaviors of commercially pure aluminum during ECAEE-SC process were investigated using finite element analysis DEFORM-3D simulation software.The material flow,the load history,the distribution of effective strain and mean stress in the billet were analyzed in comparison with conventional equal channel angular extrusion(ECAE)process.In addition,single-pass ECAEE-SC was experimentally conducted on commercially pure aluminum at room temperature for validation,and the evolution of microstructure and microhardness of as-processed material was discussed.It was shown that during the process,the material is in the ideal hydrostatic stress state and the load requirement for ECAEE-SC is much more than that for ECAE.After a single-pass ECAEE-SC,an average strain of 3.51 was accumulated in the billet with homogeneous distribution.Moreover,the microstructure was significantly refined and composed of equiaxed ultrafine grains with sub-micron size.Considerable improvement in the average microhardness of aluminum was also found,which was homogenized and increased from HV 36.61 to HV 70.20,denoting 91.75%improvement compared with that of the as-cast billet.