Development of Experimental ECAP Extrusion Rig for Material Processing

Abstract

Severe plastic deformation (SPD) methods over the years have become widely adopted for refining the grain structure of metallic materials thereby enhancing their mechanical properties. Amongst these methods, Equal Channel Angular PRESSING (ECAP) technique is the most popular possessing several advantages over the other SPD techniques. This research outlines the development of an experimental rig for equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) aimed at advancing material processing techniques. The rig components were designed using the Autodesk inventor software and materials selected were considered to meet research objectives. The fabrication process involved machining of procured workpiece to match the designs and dimensions derived from the virtual models. The experimental procedures incorporated multiple ECAP passes at varying temperatures (90, 100, 120, 140 and 150 degrees Celsius). The research contributes a robust and replicable experimental setup for ECAP with potential applications in optimizing material processing techniques for enhanced material properties.