Large-scale manufacturing of aluminum alloy plate extruded from subsize billet by new porthole-equal channel angular processing technique

To manufacture plate by the combination of equal channel angular processing (ECAP) and porthole die extrusion techniques, a novel technique, namely portholes-equal channel angular processing (P-ECAP), was studied. Extrusion of AL6005A plate used for the bullet train plate was investigated by finite element method. The relevant porthole dies involving ECAP technique in channels were designed. Dimensional changes in the scrap part of the extrudate obtained after extrusion from the P-ECAP die, with different channel angles, were predicted. Effects of the channel angle and extrusion speed on the maximum temperature of the workpiece and other field variables were evaluated. At the channel angle of 160° of P-ECAP dies, the extrudate exhibited the optimal performance and the least amount of extrudate scrap was obtained. The optimal extrusion speed was 3-5 mm/s. Moreover, with the increase in ram speed from 1 to 9 mm/s, the peak extrusion load increased by about 49% and the maximum temperature was increased by about 70 °C. The effective strain exhibited ascending trend in the corner of the ECAP deformation zone. In the solder seam and the side of die bearing of extrudate, the maximum principal stresses were tensile stress.