Investigation on Finite Element Simulation of ECAE with Variable Back Pressure for 7075 Aluminum Alloy

Abstract

The numerical simulation of equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) with variable back pressure was researched by applying the commercial Deform-3D software, in which choosing the hard deformation materials of 7075 aluminum alloy, and comparing the traditional ECAE without back pressure process. The influence of back pressure on the mean stress and the effective strain rate in the shear deformation zone was studied. The results show that the extrusion force transformation laws were different in both load ways, with the increase of back pressure, extrusion force enhances increasingly, but the final load-time curves tended towards stability, but in ECAE without back pressure, the final load-time curves tended towards decreasing; thus the whole deformation process can be divided into different stages. In addition, the larger the absolute value of the hydrostatic stress at the corner, the more beneficial to refine grain and improve the plasticity. The back pressure makes the distribution of effective strain rate in plastic deformation area more uniform and improves the uniformity of deformation.