Experimental investigation of embedding high strength reinforcements in extrusion profiles

Extrusion with porthole dies, i.e. by feeding the elements over bridges inside the die in the aluminum base material flow, was studied to manufacture continuous reinforced, thin-walled, and hollow profiles. Special care was taken to ensure an accurate positioning in the transient material flow to prevent a loss of functionality by insufficient covering and loss of positioning caused by the die geometry or unequal temperature distribution inside the die. Studies on different reinforcement wires and wire ropes based on high strength steel are presented, showing an increasing process stability when using solid wires. General process restrictions are analyzed and process guidelines are presented based on exemplary extrusions.