The Effect of ECAP Die Helix Angle on the Microstructure Homogeneity of the Processed Samples by FEM Method

Equal channel angular pressing is one of the most popular processes for the fabrication of ultrafine-grained (UFG) materials. Homogeneous strain distribution is one of the main expected outputs in this process. Recently, a new modification has been applied on the ECAP die in which the workpiece undergoes twisting in the exit channel which is defined as the helix angle of the die. In this paper, the effect of the helix angle in the exit channel along with other effective parameters, including friction coefficient and die channel angle was investigated by the FEM method. At first, a FEM model was developed based on available experimental data. Having verified the FEM model, Taguchi's design of the experimental approach was employed in which the helix angle and friction coefficient had four levels and the die channel angle had two levels. Evaluating the obtained results by the ANOVA method showed that the p-value of the helix angle was 0.01 i.e., the helix angle was an effective parameter on strain distribution and maximum imposed strain. The results also showed that the homogeneity of strain distribution decreases with increasing the friction coefficient and the helix angle and increases with increasing the die channel angle. Also, increasing the helix angle led to an increase in the maximum imposed strain.