A crystal plasticity-based explanation for the dependencies of grain refinement on processing route and die angle in equal channel angular extrusion

An explanation for the relative effectiveness of grain refinement in equal channel angular extrusion is proposed based on crystal plasticity simulations. It is shown that the processing route and die angle have significant influences on the characteristics of slip activities at pass-to-pass transitions. A higher efficiency of grain refinement by the experimentally recognized optimum route is attributed to a higher contribution from newly activated slip systems at the transitions.