A novel severe plastic deformation method for fabricating ultrafine grained pure copper

A novel severe plastic deformation (SPD) method entitled elliptical cross-section spiral equal-channel extrusion (ECSEE) was proposed to fabricate ultrafine grained (UFG) pure copper. The principle of ECSEE process was adopted to accumulate shear stress within the workpiece without any cross-section area change. In order to primarily demonstrate the deformation characteristic and refinement ability of ECSEE method, the simulated and experimental investigations were both done. In the case of simulation, the ECSEE-ed workpiece containing scribed grids was analyzed for the flow net change. Simulated results indicated the trend of effective strain distribution decreased from the circumferential area to the central area on the cross-section of ECSEE-ed workpiece. In experimental investigations of a single-pass of ECSEE, a significant grain refinement from 10–50 μm to 1–10 μm was mainly in the circumferential area of the cross-section for processed workpieces. During the ECSEE deformation, shear strain as an essential role conduced the grain refinement. Besides, a significant increase of hardness, from ∼40 Hv to ∼85 Hv, was examined. The distribution characteristic of refinement and hardness were both consistent with that of simulated effective strain.

► A new SPD method was proposed for fabricating ultrafine grained pure copper.
► Effective strain distribution of cross-section was obtained by using FEM analysis.
► Grains of deformed copper workpieces were refined from 10–50 μm to 1–10 μm.
► Distribution of hardness and refinement was similar with that of simulated results.