Modeling and Characterization of Texture Evolution in Twist Extrusion

Twist extrusion (TE) is a severe plastic deformation method with a potential for commercialization. Deformation during the TE process is non-uniform and non-monotonic, which is expected to result in significant and non-trivial microstructural changes in metallic materials. In this study, texture evolution during TE of pre-textured copper was investigated. Experimental characterization of textures after various numbers of passes demonstrated that TE can be used for producing uniformly weak textures in pre-textured copper. Crystal plasticity simulations were found to run into the problem known as strain reversal texture. In particular, crystal plasticity simulations predicted the return of initial texture upon strain reversal in the first pass of TE, whereas the experimental texture was not reversed and had components related to simple shear. Grain refinement, imperfect strain reversal, and material asymmetry are proposed to be responsible for the occurrence of strain reversal texture in TE. Effects of the non-random initial texture on the microstructure and texture evolution are also discussed.