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A study of die parameters influencing the plastic deformation for 3D finite element simulations of equal-channel angular pressing
Author(s)
Date Issued
August 1, 2025
Type
Article
Abstract
Equal-channel angular pressing is an effective method of severe plastic deformation that is employed to produce materials with ultrafine grain structures. This study aimed to systematically investigate the influence of the die parameters, specifically the channel angle and the outer curvature angle, on the induced plastic strain, strain inhomogeneity and the reaction force during processing of a round section copper-zirconium alloy workpiece. Three-dimensional finite element simulations were developed using ABAQUS/ Explicit to model single-pass deformation with varying channel angles of 90°, 110°, 120° and 150° and outer curvature angles of 20°, 30° and 60°. The results demonstrate that the channel angle is the dominant factor controlling the average equivalent plastic strain, which decreased from approximately 1.04 at 90° channel angle with 20° outer curvature angle to about 0.31 at 150° channel angle regardless of the outer curvature. In contrast, the outer curvature angle significantly influences the strain homogeneity at low channel angles, with the coefficient of variance increasing from 0.06 to 0.22 when the outer curvature angle increases from 20° to 60° at a 90° channel angle. Additionally, the maximum reaction force declined markedly with an increasing channel angle, dropping from 58 kN at 90° to 12 kN at 150°, thereby highlighting a strong interplay between imposed strain and forming load. These findings provide clear guidelines for optimizing the die design to balance high strain, uniform deformation and manageable pressing forces in the industrial processing of ultrafine-grained materials.
Citation
Journal of Materials Science, 60(32), 14207-14220, 2025