Abstract
Ultrafine grained materials have a great deal of both scientific and technological interest because they allow outstanding properties to be obtained. An improvement in the mechanical strength and in the ductility and a better fatigue behaviour are properties to be expected with these materials. However, in spite of the great number of scientific publications that deals with the mechanical property improvement, the number of practical applications of these materials is scant. In this present research work, equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) is used as a severe plastic deformation process (SPD) to obtain billets which are subsequently isothermally forged to obtain a connecting rod with submicrometric grain size. The optimization of the design process is shown as well as the die design. The objective variables to be fulfilled are the correct filling of the die and the required force to obtain the part. Moreover, a comparison is also included between the mechanical properties thus obtained and those obtained with traditional methods. Moreover, optical and SEM micrographs are also included in this research work.
Highlights
The main aim of severe plastic deformation (SPD) processes is to obtain ultrafine grained materials (UFG)
Within the SPD process developed over these past few years, one of the most widely studied that provides better mechanical properties is the one known as equal channel angular extrusion or pressing (ECAP), which was firstly proposed by Segal in the former Soviet Union [1]
It can be observed in the recent bibliography that there is a trend toward combining two or more existing processes in the way of [7], where hot isostatic pressing process (HIT) is combined with dynamic severe plastic deformation (DSPD)
Summary
The main aim of severe plastic deformation (SPD) processes is to obtain ultrafine grained materials (UFG). At these forging temperatures a loss in the mechanical properties of the ECAP’ed billets is obtained, this leads to a better plastic flow of the material and to a better filling of the die compared to that obtained in the conventional forging This is very important when parts with complex geometries are required to be manufactured. The authors analyse the influence of different cutting tools and the number of ECAP passages by using routes B and C This present research study deals with the isothermal forging of a connecting rod manufactured by using AA1050 and AA5083 which have been previously ECAP’ed with two passages using route C. In this present research study two connecting rods made from AA1050 and AA5083 previously ECAP’ed are manufactured with the objective of obtaining submicrometric grain size in the parts to be forged as well as to improve their mechanical properties. It is shown that it is feasible to develop mechanical components with submicrometric structure and with improved mechanical properties in comparison to those obtained by using conventional methods, which usually consist in forging the parts starting from annealed materials
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