Design guideline of multi-pass equal channel angular extrusion for uniform strain distribution

An equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) imposes severe plastic deformation into the workpiece to obtain ultrafine-grained materials. Since the strain level accumulated in materials during deformation history directly influences the grain size and distribution, the effect of ECAE process parameters on strain distribution was investigated using three-dimensional and non-isothermal finite element (FE) simulations depending on different processing routes and number of passes. The experimental data was utilized to identify the effect of accumulated mean strain values on yield and ultimate strengths of commercially available pure titanium (CP-Ti). Based on this, a design guideline to obtain desirable mechanical properties in the ECAE process to obtain uniform strain distribution or require minimum forming energy was proposed in the present investigation.