Flow properties of an aluminum alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing

Equal Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP) process is an important process for producing ultrafine-grained microstructures in bulk metals and alloys. In the present work, aluminum alloy AA 6063 samples were subjected to ECAP for up to three passes using an ECAP die with a die angle of 105°. The strain imparted to the specimen after three passes was approximately 2.64. Compression testing of the ECAP specimens was carried out to determine the subsequent flow behavior. Two types of compression test specimen orientations, one parallel to the axis of pressed sample and the other at 45° to the axis of the pressed sample, were used for the study. The strain path change (SPC) parameter was used to quantify the strain path change involved in straining by ECAP followed by straining by uniaxial compression. Higher flow strength values were observed in compression in specimens machined at 45º to the axis of the ECAP specimens. Flow softening and anisotropic behavior have been studied with respect to the number of passes and processing routes.