Finite element analysis of deformation behaviour of metals during equal channel multi-angular pressing

In the present paper, the plastic deformation behaviour of materials during equal channel multi-angular pressing (ECMAP) of routes A and C, with a theoretical total strain of approximate to 2 upon a single pass, was studied using the two dimensional rigid-plastic finite element method. The ECMAP process is described in terms of the two stages based on the die filling procedure. Numerical simulation for annealed pure copper showed that the first corner gap that occurred during stage I was not formed during stage II owing to the back pressure developed due to the second intersection deformation. The back pressure effect results in the local severe shear at the bottom of the ECMAP sample for the processing routes A and C. While the overall shear deformation is more intensive in the route A sample and is lessened in the reverse direction in the route C sample due to the difference in the shear direction of the first and the second shear, the effective strain along the width direction for the route A processed workpiece is more homogeneous than that of the route C processed workpiece. The results suggest the possibility of obtaining homogeneous deformation resulting in isotropic samples by controlling the deforming route. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.