AN ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION IN THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ALUMINUM ALLOY FOLLOWING THE ECAP PROCESS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11113/aej.v15.23156Keywords:
Mechanical, Microstructure, ECAP, Hardness, Aluminum alloyAbstract
An analysis of the changes in the microstructure and mechanical properties of Aluminum Alloy 6016 after the ECAP process is presented in this study. It involves designing an easy-to-use die set and having it manufactured for the ECAP procedure. After heating and nitrogen permeation to achieve the required hardness and strength, the A6016 Aluminum extrusion experiment was conducted. The extruded product was tested for hardness, tensile strength, and microstructure to examine the effect of the processing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the aluminum alloy. Experimental results show that the die can only press each billet for a maximum of 2 times and cracks on the 3rd pass. The hardness of the billet increased from 36.5 HB (as-received sample) to 67.4 HB and reached 78.8 HB after the first and second pass, respectively. The tensile strength of aluminum also increased significantly; particularly, the maximum tensile stress rose from 50 bar from the initial billet to 65 bar and 70 bar after the first and second pass, correspondingly. The microstructure of the part also changed considerably. From the initial spherical shape structure, the grains were elongated in the pressing direction after the first pressing; and in the second pressing, some grains continued to be elongated further while some others were broken into smaller grains. The overall results show that after only 2 presses through the ECAP channel, aluminum 6016 has significantly improved its microstructure and mechanical properties.
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