Materials Today: Proceedings 26 (2020) 2173–2178

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Materials Today: Proceedings

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matpr

Equal channel angular pressing of the aluminium alloy: A numerical

investigation
Binayak Mishra a, Sambit Kumar Mohapatra b,⇑, Vikas Ranjan c, Kalipada Maity d
a
School of Mechanical Engineering, GEC, Madanpur, Khurda, Odisha 752054, India
b
School of Mechanical Engineering, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024, India
c
Department of Mechanical Engineering, BITS-Vizag, Andhra Pradesh 530048, India
d
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha 769008, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) is adopted as the most popular bulk severe plastic deformation
Received 3 January 2020 (SPD) processing technique and has been utilised for the grain refinement in several metals and alloys.
Accepted 13 February 2020 The aforesaid technique, in which the metallic billet processes through a simple shear was investigated
Available online 11 March 2020
by finite element analysis in this work. The die channel angle for the investigation was selected by con-
sidering the minimum energy consumption for the induction of maximum uniform strain. Out of pre-
Keywords: ferred channels, 110° was found suitable. Al-6063 was considered as work material. Maximum load
Equal channel angular pressing
requirement for accomplishing the operation, effective stress and strain distribution were also inquired.
Severe plastic deformation
Aluminium alloys
The mathematically calculated equivalent plastic strain value found in close proximity to the value
Strain obtained from the FEA. In the process die channel angle and friction conditions are primarily responsible
Strengthening Mechanism for maximum strain induction in the work material, which was affirmed here by the numerical analysis.
In addition to it these two parameters influence the maximum load requirement for accomplishing the
operation whereas, ram rate within the investigated range has the negligible impact.
Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 10th International Con-
ference of Materials Processing and Characterization.

1. Introduction manufacturing process as well as right choice of materials, scien-

tists as well as engineers demonstrating themselves with consider-
Synthesization of the materials that has been developed from able challenges concern to various applications. Different heat
an antediluvian to modernistic engineering & science all over the treatments and forming processes are the secondary operations
chronicles of human being civilization is an interminable process. employed to improve tribo-mechanical performances of the pro-
In this holocene, the evolution had been passed through stones, duct which was reported by several researchers [3–5]. The materi-
metals, alloys, composites, ceramics, cermets etc. After the age of als which are not heat treatable, are generally provided different
bronze and copper, in the regime of 1200BCE when iron and con- forming processes as the secondary strengthening mechanisms.
sequently steel came into picture, the manufacturing industry Severe plastic deformation (SPD) is a general concept of metal-
got thrilled for many centuries [1]. But at the current scenario, working methods that induces a severe strain with no change in
when the human society is dealing with scarcity of energy the overall dimensions [2,6]. In other words, high strength and spe-
resources, it seems quite redundant to deal with heavy equip- cial geometry of tools prevent the smooth flow of material, causing
ments. Hence, a need generates there for the development and a lot of hydrostatic pressure development and the pressure tends
growth of material by reducing weight without compromising per- the material to flow through the designed path accompanied by
formance [2]. high shear strain. The process causes crystal defects with enhanced
A rigorous research work was carried out in last few decades for dislocation density, and leads to the creation of fine grains [1]. The
the development of lightweight materials. For the right choice of deformation of tools or die is restrained. In metal industries, the
SPD processes are adopting outstanding concentration due to its
utilitarian microstructure refinement to the nanometer or sub-
⇑ Corresponding author.
micro meter stratum. The most common process of SPD is the
E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Kumar Mohapatra).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.474
2214-7853/Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 10th International Conference of Materials Processing and Characterization.
2174 B. Mishra et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 26 (2020) 2173–2178

equal channel angular pressing (ECAP), which introduces shear effects plots, stress distribution, strain distribution and load-stroke
plastic deformations to a work-piece without altering its overall plot were analyzed.
geometry. Many researchers have tried to induce deformation
through ECAP by controlling the influence of the processing param-
3. Results and discussion
eters such as die geometry [7], temperature, routes, deformation
rate, friction, back pressure [8] and of the work material properties
3.1. Confirmatory test
i.e. the composition, phase, yield stress, grain size, texture, etc.
FEM is the only way to virtually visualize and analyze the
To determine the mesh density of the models for the finite ele-
changes that takes place at the inaccessible zone during deforma-
ment investigation, a confirmatory test was conducted. The vari-
tion. Stress, strain, temperature etc. developed during the deforma-
able mesh densities considered for the test are tabulated in
tion zone can be understood in better prior to experiment [9]. The
Table 2. Considering the mesh combinations, the simulations were
most important data that is the maximum load requirement for the
conducted. The comparative load versus stroke plot obtained from
operation and minimization of the same by tailoring variable
the results is shown in Fig. 1. Considering the work piece as Al
parameters as well as die modification can be possible with the
6063, coefficient of friction 0.5 and die angle 110°, the maximum
software analysis [10]. Patil et al [11] reported a significant influ-
load requirement to accomplish the operation was found lying
ence of channel angle and outer corner angle on load requirement
within 75–80 kN. There is no significant difference observed in
as well as mean of strain whereas outer corner angle has negligible
between three simulations. To have a clear analysis of flow charac-
influence. Operating temperatures as well as friction value too
terization and effective stress – strain distribution at split sections,
have influence on the process. Higher temperature along with
the higher side mesh density (combination-1) was chosen for fur-
higher friction condition causes higher strain inhomogeneity
ther investigations.
index.
The objective of this work is to study and investigate the effect
of different parameters of ECAP process on the strain and its distri- 3.2. Flow characteristic and strain distribution with different channel
bution. The finite element analysis was carried out opting the die, angles
which induces maximum uniform stain with minimum energy
consumption. The significance of different parameters on flow In metal forming study, flow analysis has a major contribution
characteristics, strain generation and load requirement has been to understand the forming characteristics of the process. Flow
investigated. characteristics of the material during ECAP in the FEA with differ-
ent die channel angles is investigated by split billet grid pattern
technique and presented in Fig. 2. A substantial dead metal zone
2. Finite element model was observed at the outer corner zone in 90° straight die. An outer
fillet corner minimizes the zone but a sticky layer seems promi-
A thermo-viscoplastic and thermo-rigid material model in nent in the material at the bottom areas which anticipates non uni-
DEFORM-v.6.1 software package were employed for the work piece form strain distribution. In the die of angle 90° with fillet, the flow
and tooling setup respectively. Four solid components (billet, is comparatively better. As the die angle increases the flow appears
punch, ECAP die and a support plate) for the simulation are pre- to be smooth. In case of die angle 110° and 120°, negligible amount
pared by the SolidWorks software. Before deciding the mesh num- of non-uniformity in flow was ascertained with minimum inhomo-
bers, a confirmatory modelling was conducted. geneity index as reported [12].
To check the material flow behavior and finalization of channel Smoothness of the flow has the adversarial effect on the objec-
angle of ECAP die, flow characteristics analysis has been conducted. tive of SPD. Without compromising the uniform maximum strain
Grid pattern analysis option was chosen to check the flow behavior induction, the die must be designed in such a way that; the flow
in 2-D plane. For the analysis, channel angles such as 90° (with and should not incorporate any redundancy. The effective strain distri-
without the outer fillet radius), 110° (with the outer fillet radius) bution in FEA at the split section of the billet along the billet axis, is
and 120° with the outer fillet radius were selected. Effect of die presented in Fig. 3. The distribution is apparently corroborating the
channel angle on effective strain, strain rate distribution and flow aforesaid discussions on the flow characteristics.
characteristics is investigated here. It is very difficult to get the uniform strain distribution in a sin-
A standard L-9 orthogonal array was planned for the simulation gle pass but the die with proper corner angles reduces the inhomo-
with the die having channel angle of 110° to ascertain influence of geneity index [12]. Von-Misses equivalent strain for ECAP
the parameters. Considering three variables such as ram rate considering die channel angle ‘u’ and angle associated with arc of
(mm/sec), operating temperature (°C) and coefficient of friction curvature ‘w = 0°’ (as shown in Fig. 4) was derived by Segal [13]
in three levels; the simulations were conducted. The L-9 orthogonal and the relation is presented in Eq. (1) Fig. 5.
array is tabulated in Table 1. After completion of the runs, the main
2Ncot/=2
e¼ pffiffiffi ð1Þ
3
Table 1
L9 orthogonal array.     
N / w / w
e ¼ pffiffiffi 2cot þ þ wcosec þ ð2Þ
Run Ram rate Operating Temperature Coefficient of 3 2 2 2 2
(mm/sec) (°C) friction
1 2 0 0.2    
N / w
2 2 200 0.4 e ¼ pffiffiffi 2cot þ þw ð3Þ
3 2 300 0.6 3 2 2
4 4 0 0.4
5 4 200 0.6
The relation neglects the effect of outer die angle, ram rate and
6 4 300 0.2 operating temperature for the estimation of strain generation. It
7 6 0 0.6 confers lesser value of die angle will induce more strain hence
8 6 200 0.2 more dislocation densities and a channel with die angle 180° has
9 6 300 0.4
zero strain. But the relation is modified by Salcedo et al [14] intro-
 B. Mishra et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 26 (2020) 2173–2178 2175

Table 2
Variables mesh densities for confirmatory test.

Combination Work piece mesh Punch mesh ECAP-die mesh Coefficient of friction Ram rate (mm/sec) Operating temperature (°C)
1 45,000 40,000 80,000 0.5 1 40
2 35,000 30,000 50,000 0.5 1 40
3 25,000 20,000 40,000 0.5 1 40

faces, uniform plastic flow in the channel and isotropic work mate-
rial. In the simulations with less friction value, the maximum strain
found has a close proximity with the numerical value. But for the
cases where coefficient of friction is at higher side i.e 0.6 for run
3, 5 and 7. The strain induced is more which is clearly mentationed
in Table 3. At higher temperature and friction conditions, the
deformation took place is more, so the strain found is at higher
side.
Load versus stroke plot for different channel angles is shown in
Fig. 6. Due to redundant work as well as maximum non homoge-
neous strain distribution, load required for right angled channel
die is maximum. Load requirement decreases with the increase
in smoothness of the flow. The die with channel angle of 120°
requires comparatively minimum load to accomplish the process.
But the maximum strain induction reduces with the increase of
die angle. The primary objective of SPD is to induce more strain
hence dislocation density. The die which avoids redundant work
due to non-uniform strain generation and capable of providing
maximum strain is chosen for the further investigation. The die
Fig. 1. Comparative load versus stroke plot for three simulations.
with 110° channel angle is found suitable and selected for the fur-
ther investigation. The variation of inner corner angle has very neg-
ligible impact on load requirement [11]: hence neglected and a
ducing outer corner angle, which is represented in Eq. (2). The suitable outer filler of radius 10 mm is chosen.
equation was further modified by Goforth et al. [15] and presented
in Eq. (3).
By using Eqs. (2) and (3), the value of maximum strain was cal- 3.3. Simulation analysis based on Taguchi philosophy
culated for the designed die with w = 20° and found 0.76 and 0.74
respectively. But the equation was developed by assuming a rigid Considering the aforementioned parameters in Table 1, the sim-
perfectly plastic material, zero friction condition at the contact sur- ulations were conducted. The focus remains on the out puts like

Fig. 2. Flow grid pattern analysis.

2176 B. Mishra et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 26 (2020) 2173–2178

Fig. 3. Effective - strain distribution at different die channels.

Fig. 5. Load versus stroke.

Fig. 4. ECAP in 2 dimension.

strain rate and operating temperature. For each curve, load value
increases at a high rate of rise to maximum. The rate of decreases
maximum load requirement and maximum strain distribution. The after the peak point is strain rate and friction dependent. At higher
maximum load and maximum strain induced for every run friction conditions, a visible decline of load requirement is clearly
obtained from simulation result is tabulated in Table 3. depicted.
The progressive load versus ram displacement plot extracted At lesser operating temperature with higher friction condition
from the results of the simulations is shown in Fig. 6. The maxi- and ram rate i.e. run-7 the load requirement is maximum. At
mum load requirement for the material is the function of strain, higher friction conditions, the strain inhomogeneity is at higher
 B. Mishra et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 26 (2020) 2173–2178 2177

Table 3
Simulation results.

Run Ram rate (mm/sec) Operating Temperature (°C) Coefficient of Friction Maximum Load (N) Maximum Strain
1 2 0 0.2 24,836 1.07
2 2 200 0.4 39,724 1.17
3 2 300 0.6 32,188 2.50
4 4 0 0.4 62,870 1.1
5 4 200 0.6 61,027 2.24
6 4 300 0.2 7522 1.18
7 6 0 0.6 96,489 2.14
8 6 200 0.2 14,231 1.1
9 6 300 0.4 22,193 1.25

slope of the plots, it is clear that effect of ram rate on load require-
ment is very less compared to operating temperature and coeffi-
cient of friction.
Fig. 8 shows the main effects plot for the maximum strain
induced with different variable conditions. It is observed that,
increase in both temperature and coefficient of friction results in
increasing the maximum strain. But the maximum strain induced
due to friction condition is found around the surface which leads
to strain inhomogeneity. From the slope of the plots it is clear that
effect of coefficient of friction on effective-strain induction is
higher than ram rate and operating temperature.

4. Conclusion

In this investigation, the results of a 3-dimensional rigid-

viscoplastic finite element analysis of Al-6063 during ECAP in a sin-
gle pass was presented. The following conclusions were made:
Fig. 6. Load Vs Stroke.

1. The die channel angle plays a major role in the magnitude of

induced effective strain and its distribution. Decreasing the
side. The main effects plot is analyzed to identify the significant angle cause higher magnitude of strain induction as well as
factors those influences the response. Taguchi recommends to ana- more inhomogeneous strain distribution.
lyze the main effect plot visually with conceptual approaches to 2. Operating temperature and friction coefficient has major
understand the impact of various parameters without using impact on maximum load requirement for the operation
ANOVA. Fig. 7 shows the main effects plot for the maximum load whereas strain rate has a comparative negligible impact.
requirement, which represents the principal factors affecting the 3. Out of three variables like operating temperature, ram rate and
load requirement for the SPD. It can be noticed from the Figure that, coefficient of friction, friction value along with die channel
increase in temperature results in decrease of load requirement. angle plays a significant contribution for the strain induction.
The reverse effect was found for the friction condition. From the

Fig. 7. Main effects plot for the maximum load requirement.

2178 B. Mishra et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 26 (2020) 2173–2178

Fig. 8. Main effects plot for the maximum strain.

Declaration of Competing Interest [7] K. Nakashima, Z. Horita, M. Nemoto, T.G. Langdon, Influence of channel angle
on the development of ultrafine grains in equal-channel angular pressing, Acta
Mater. 46 (1998) 1589–1599.
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan- [8] F. Djavanroodi, M. Ebrahimi, Effect of die channel angle, friction and back
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared pressure in the equal channel angular pressing using 3D finite element
simulation, Mater. Sci. Eng. A. 527 (2010) 1230–1235.
to influence the work reported in this paper. [9] S. Li, M.A.M. Bourke, I.J. Beyerlein, D.J. Alexander, B. Clausen, Finite element
analysis of the plastic deformation zone and working load in equal channel
angular extrusion, Mater. Sci. Eng. A. 382 (2004) 217–236, https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.msea.2004.04.067.
References [10] M.A. Agwa, M.N. Ali, A.E. Al-Shorbagy, Optimum processing parameters for
equal channel angular pressing, Mech. Mater. 100 (2016) 1–11.
[1] M. Taya, R.J. Arsenault, Metal matrix composites: thermomechanical behavior, [11] B. V Patil, U. Chakkingal, T.S. Prasanna Kumar, Effect of geometric parameters
Elsevier, 2016. on strain, strain inhomogeneity and peak pressure in equal channel angular
[2] B. Verlinden, Severe plastic deformation of metals, Metall. Mater Eng. (2018). pressing – A study based on 3D finite element analysis, J. Manuf. Process. 17
[3] P. Bazarnik, M. Lewandowska, M. Andrzejczuk, K.J. Kurzydlowski, The strength (2015) 88–97. Doi: 10.1016/j.jmapro.2014.07.010.
and thermal stability of Al–5Mg alloys nano-engineered using methods of [12] D.N.A. Sh’ri, M.A.H.A. Hassan, Z.S. Zahari, W.S.W. Harun, Finite element
metal forming, Mater. Sci. Eng. A. 556 (2012) 134–139. simulation of equal channel angular pressing: effect of die angle and
[4] B. Mirzakhani, Y. Payandeh, Combination of sever plastic deformation and number of passes, Int. J. Automot. Mech. Eng. 16 (2019) 6402–6414.
precipitation hardening processes affecting the mechanical properties in Al– [13] V.M. Segal, Materials processing by simple shear, Mater. Sci. Eng. A. 197 (1995)
Mg–Si alloy, Mater. Des. 68 (2015) 127–133. 157–164.
[5] S.K. Mohapatra, S.B. Mishra, K.K. Joshi, S. Pradhan, Effect of the hot deformation [14] D. Salcedo, C.J. Luis, I. Puertas, J. León, R. Luri, J.P. Fuertes, FEM modelling and
on mechanical and wear characteristics of the P/M AMC, Mater. Today Proc. 18 experimental analysis of an AA5083 turbine blade from ECAP processed
(2019) 5040–5047. material, Mater. Manuf. Process. 29 (2014) 434–441.
[6] Y. Cao, S. Ni, X. Liao, M. Song, Y. Zhu, Structural evolutions of metallic materials [15] R.E. Goforth, K.T. Hartwig, L.R. Cornwell, Severe plastic deformation of
processed by severe plastic deformation, Mater. Sci. Eng. R Reports. 133 (2018) materials by equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE), in: Investig. Appl. Sev.
1–59. Plast. Deform., Springer, 2000: pp. 3–12.