Journal of Materials Processing Technology 143–144 (2003) 105–111

Processing of aluminium alloys by equal channel

angular drawing at room temperature
C.J. Luis Pérez∗ , C. Berlanga, J. Pérez-Ilzarbe
Dpto. de Ingenierı́a Mecánica, Energética y de Materiales, ETSIIT-Universidad Pública de Navarra,
Área de Ingenierı́a de los Procesos de Fabricación, Campus Arrosadı́a s/n, 31006 Pamplona, Spain

Abstract

The equal channel angular drawing (ECAD) process is an innovative method that allows continuous processing of alloys. The material
is drawn through two intersecting channels at an angle commonly between 90 and 135◦ . The equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE)
process—in which the material is extruded instead of drawn—has been extensively studied in the literature in contrast with the ECAD
process because of its novelty. In this work, the effect of different processing ways through the ECAD process and the heat treatment are
analysed. This work shows the results obtained when the 1370 aluminium alloy is processed, at room temperature, with N = 5 (N, number
of passes), through two different routes. The experimental results confirm the refinement in final grain sizes in relation to the starting
material.
© 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: ECAD; Superplastic forming; Simple shear; Finite element modelling (FEM)

1. Introduction tic behaviour attaining high ductilities at high strain rates,

In the last recent years, the production of ultrafine-grained
(UFG) materials has attracted a lot of interest. In these mate-
rials unusual properties appear such as high tensile strength,
ductility and the possibility to get superplasticity at low tem-
peratures [1]. Metal forming processes such as (cold rolling,
extrusion, drawing, etc.) impart high plastic deformations
and, sometimes, submicrometer grain size may be achieved
[2,3]. However, these techniques imply important reductions
in the material dimensions, resulting in very thin sheets
(rolling) or filaments (extrusion), with little practical util-
ity of structural type. The equal channel angular extrusion
(ECAE) and equal channel angular drawing (ECAD) are ad-
vantageous processes in which the dimensions of the speci-
men remain unchanged. The sample is processed through a
die containing two equal channels intersecting at an angle
(2φ) between 90 and 135◦ [4,5]. If the sample is punched
through the die, the process is called ECAE and if the spec-
imen is drawn, then the process will be ECAD [6,7], as
shown in Fig. 1.
A significant characteristic of ECAE is that it provides a
potential way for refining grain size to the submicrometer
level [8–13]. Furthermore, it is possible to get superplas-
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +34-48-169301.
E-mail address: cluis.perez@unavarra.es (C.J. Luis Pérez).
with these two requirements: (1) a very small grain size
(∼1–10 ␮m) and (2) a high testing temperature of the order
of 0.5Tm (where Tm is the absolute melting temperature of
the material). Both requirements are incompatible due to the
grain growth at high temperatures. So, metals showing high
elongation at fracture are usually eutectic alloys or incorpo-
rate a fine dispersion of a second phase.
The ECAE process is better known than the ECAD and a
lot of articles have been written, specially during last years
[14]. It was firstly described by Segal et al. [15] in 1981, in
former Soviet Union. The analysis of Segal states that for
large specimens of an extruded material through two inter-
secting channels and supposing frictionless idealised condi-
tions, the material experiments simple shear. This produces
a stationary plastic flow, in the intersection plane [16,17].
The shear deformation produced by ECAE [18,19] and the
effective deformation per pass according to the Von Misses
criterion is given by Eq. (1), respectively:
2
γ = tan ψ = 2 cot φ, ε = √ cot φ (1)
3
where ψ is the inclination angle of an element of distorted
material in connection to the non-distorted element, and φ is
the half angle between the channels. As can be observed in
Fig. 2, the ECAE and ECAD processes have been modelled
using FEM with an angle of 90◦ . The deformation produced

0924-0136/03/$ – see front matter © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0924-0136(03)00329-7
106 C.J. Luis Pérez et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 143–144 (2003) 105–111
Fig. 1. Schematic view of the ECAD process.
by ECAE is greater than by ECAD, so better mechanical
properties and a significant refinement in grain sizes are ex-
pected. However, two main advantages of ECAD over ECAE
are clear. First, the length of the processed specimen is not
limited by the buckling instability of the extruding ram; sec-
ond, it could be applied as an intermediate step in continu-
ous industrial process. On the other hand, the cross-section
of the billet becomes smaller with the number of passes.
The billet makes thinner as it crosses the shear plane while
the upper part on the intersection planes does not change
Fig. 2. FEM analysis: (a) ECAD process; (b) ECAE process.
its dimensions. In this paper, the 1370 aluminium alloy was
processed at room temperature, using two processing routes.
Microhardness, grain size and mechanical properties were
measured. Optical microscopy was also done. These results
are compared with the properties of the annealed material
before and after ECAD.
2. Finite element modelling
FEM was performed to observe the deformed mesh and
how the ECAD method affects the microstructure. A homo-
geneous shear deformation zone is observed in the middle
of the billets as it passes the intersection plane. In addition,
the small reduction in area is clearly seen in the ECAD pro-
cess, with an increase in the length of the processed billet
with the passes. Plane deformation hypothesis has been con-
sidered for the finite element simulation, in order to sim-
plify the analysis. Although the cylindrical billet may lead
to another kind of deformation state. The elements become
distorted as they pass the shear plane. Different deforma-
tion zones appear, in particular in the area contacting with
the arc of curvature. In the ECAE process, both the shear
deformation zone and the microstructural deformation are
bigger than in the ECAD process, as shown in Fig. 2b. An
area reduction of the billet is produced in the ECAD process
(Fig. 2a), but the size restriction is observed in Fig. 2b, not
in the ECAD process. In this way, the billet in the ECAE
experiments the remarkable effect of the shear plane and
this deformation causes submicrometer grain sizes easily
reached.
 C.J. Luis Pérez et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 143–144 (2003) 105–111 107

3. Experimental procedure

The starting material was the 1370 (99.7 wt.% Al) wire
drawing aluminium alloy. The material was annealed at
400 ◦ C for 1 h to have a homogeneous initial microstruc-
ture. The die channels intersected at an angle 2φ = 90◦ . The
channels were 10 mm in diameter and were lubricated with
MoS2 . Previously, the specimen was bent to fit into the die
angle with a manual machine designed to it in order to in-
sert the billet into the channels. Then the material in form of
bars with diameter of 9.45 and 200 mm in length, was pro-
cessed until N = 5 (N, number of passes), with a drawing
speed of 200 mm/min.
The processing routes were: Route A and Route B [20,21].
In Route A, there is no rotation of the specimen between Fig. 4. Specimen after N = 2 passes and annealed at 300 ◦ C (100×;
consecutive passes. In Route B, the specimen is rotated 90◦ d = 31.8 ␮m). Route A: initial die.
in the same direction about its axis between the passes. For
each route, two different die channels were used: the first
die (in advance, initial die) had shorter entrance channel 4. Optical microscopy
and the second one (in advance, modified die) had longer
entrance channel. This change in the channel will provide Optical microscopy was conducted on longitudinal sec-
a larger length of the processed area and a better fitting of tions of the annealed specimens. The following micrographs
the billet with the channel walls. Thus, a guided movement show the microstructure before the ECAD process and af-
of the material will be achieved with the longer die channel. ter. As can be observed from Figs. 3–9, grains are equiaxed
In addition, the differences in the microstructure using both with small differences in grain size.
die channels, will be discussed. The consequence of the There are certain elongated grains within some shear
ECAD process is expected to be a deformed microstructure. bands in Fig. 6. The dependence of grain size with the an-
The aim is to achieve a recrystallized microstructure after nealing temperature is clearly seen in Fig. 10, where grain
the deformation imparted by the ECAD process, so heat sizes of 63.5 ␮m appear after a heat treatment of 350 ◦ C,
treatment is required after the bar has been drawn. for example in Route B, modified die.
The annealing temperatures ranged from 250 to 400 ◦ C
with intervals of 50 ◦ C. Tensile strength and microhardness
with 0.49 N (50 gf) were measured to characterize mechan- 5. Discussion
ical properties. The processed specimens were cut longitu-
dinally in the drawing axis and then polished for the mi- The results of the drawing stress and mechanical proper-
crohardness measurements. For the study of grain size, by ties are represented in Figs. 11 and 12. The drawing stress
means of optical microscopy, the specimens were polished increases for the two processing routes A and B, from N =
after annealing and they were electrolytically etched with
Barker’s reagent, and observed through polarized light.

Fig. 5. Specimen after N = 3 and annealed at 250 ◦ C (100×;

Fig. 3. Annealed specimen before ECAD (100×; d = 44.9 ␮m). d = 37.8 ␮m). Route A: modified die.
108 C.J. Luis Pérez et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 143–144 (2003) 105–111

Fig. 6. Specimen after N = 1 and annealed at 300 ◦ C (50×; d = 26.7 ␮m). Fig. 9. Specimen after N = 3 and annealed at 250 ◦ C (100×;
Route A: modified die. d = 31.8 ␮m). Route B: modified die.

Fig. 7. Specimen after N = 1 and annealed at 250 ◦ C (100×;

d = 26.7 ␮m). Route B: initial die. Fig. 10. Specimen after N = 2 and annealed at 350 ◦ C (100×;
d = 75.5 ␮m). Route B: modified die.

Fig. 11. Drawing stress with the number of passes.

Fig. 8. Specimen after N = 1 and annealed at 350 ◦ C (100×;
d = 31.8 ␮m). Route B: modified die.

modified dies. But these values are even greater than N = 1

1 to 2, in both dies. Both routes with modified dies increase (Table 1, Fig. 11). These results are in concordance with
their drawing stress from the second to the third pass. those of Chakkingal et al. [7], who attributed the formation
After N = 3, the experimental results show progressive of microbands and the nature of shear deformation as influ-
decrease of this parameter although it is noticeable in the encing factors of the trend shown in Fig. 11.
 C.J. Luis Pérez et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 143–144 (2003) 105–111 109

Fig. 12. Tensile properties of ECAD process.

The tensile tests (Fig. 12) show an increase up to N = 2
in all the routes. From N = 3 to 5, there is no significant
variations. The elongation decreases in all the routes except
for the Route B with modified die, where a little increase is
produced from the pass N = 1 to 3.
As was mentioned in the experimental section, mea-
surements of microhardness were performed with load of
0.49 N (50 gf). These results are shown in Fig. 13. The 1370
aluminium alloy annealed at 400 ◦ C before ECAD has a
value of 29.2 HV. A comparison of microhardness before
and after the ECAD process is established. According to the
experimental results, the microhardness of the non-annealed
specimen increases with the number of passes, having its
maximum value in the fifth pass. The most appropriate an-
nealing temperature seems to be between 250 and 300 ◦ C
after the processing of the specimens [22]. At these tem-
peratures, microhardness continue increasing slightly, in
most of cases. At higher temperatures (350 and 400 ◦ C)

Fig. 13. Variation of Vickers microhardness with the annealing temperatures after ECAD.
110 C.J. Luis Pérez et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 143–144 (2003) 105–111

Table 1 Fig. 14 and optical microscopy reveal that the differ-

Drawing stress (MPa) with the number of passes and routes ence between the starting grain size (44.9 ␮m) before
Number of passes (N) ECAD (N = 0 passes) and the lesser grain size achieved
(26.7 ␮m, Route B, modified die) was not as relevant as was
1 2 3 4 5
expected.
Route A For the Route A, initial die, the smaller grain size is
Initial die 35.5 37.4 32.8 30.2 29.2 31.8 ␮m and it is reached with the first four passes, with an-
Modified die 31.5 35.5 43.1 33.4 35.5
nealing temperatures of 250 and 300 ◦ C. The lines for both
Route B temperatures are superimposed in the graph.
Initial die 33.4 50.4 39.3 39.6 37.0 For the Route A, modified die, similar grain sizes
Modified die 30.7 33.9 51.0 44.8 36.9
are attained up to N = 2 (31.8 ␮m) for temperatures
of 250 and 300 ◦ C with the exception of the third pass
at 300 ◦ C, in which a smaller grain size is achieved
microhardness diminishes due to grain growth. Fig. 13 (26.7 ␮m).
shows this grain growth with the annealing temperature. The graph corresponding to the Route B, initial die, shows
The variation of the grain size with the routes, dies and sizes of 26.7 ␮m for the first, fourth and fifth pass, at 300 ◦ C.
annealing temperatures is shown in Fig. 14. According to Finally, grain sizes of the order of 31.8 ␮m are attained
the experimental results, there is an optimum annealing tem- for the Route B, modified die in the third pass at 250 ◦ C. At
perature for achieving refined grain sizes. This temperature 250 and 300 ◦ C, the same grain size of 37.8 ␮m is obtained
will depend on the route and the channel die employed: for the second pass.
There is a considerable grain growth at temperatures
Route A: initial channel die, 250–300 ◦ C (similar grain of 350 ◦ C for all the routes, with the exception of the
sizes). Route B, modified die, where a grain size of 31.8 ␮m is
Route A: modified channel die, 300 ◦ C. obtained.
Route B: initial channel die, 300 ◦ C. Therefore, the imparted deformation for this method
Route B: modified channel die, 250 ◦ C. (2φ = 90◦ ) it is not enough good for achieving grains

Fig. 14. Variation of the grain size with the annealing temperature and number of passes.
 C.J. Luis Pérez et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 143–144 (2003) 105–111
within submicrometer range, which is attributed to the fact
that simple shear is lesser than the drawing stress.
6. Conclusions
The effect of different processing routes on the final mi-
crostructure, the design of the dies for the experiment and
the influence of the heat treatment have been analysed in
this work.
The process of ECAD itself implies a little reduction in
the specimen diameter, specially after the second pass. So it
is of essential importance the fitting of the billet within the
die walls. This will prevent from the instability of the rod
while it is processing.
The increase of the material microhardness and the refine-
ment of grain size are not so evident as described in Refs.
[6,7]. The plastic deformation includes two main stresses:
the drawing stress and the shear stress. Probably, this process
is more influenced by the drawing stress than by the shear
stress. The effect of shear stress seems to be insignificant.
FEM also allows us to confirm that ECAE process is more
suitable to obtain submicrometer grain but the limited size
of the specimen makes this technique inefficient for most
of the industrial processes. As it was discussed, different
structures seem to appear when both processes are carried
out. Nevertheless, a complete study using TEM and EBSD
techniques will be done in a future work to draw definite
conclusions. The main aim of this paper was to show if
ECAD process could be used as an industrial process.
From the results obtained, it is possible to recommend
this process as an intermediate step in the processing of
aluminium alloys by wire drawing, by using a dimensioning
die in order to get a homogeneous cross-section.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the support given by the Min-
isterio de Ciencia y Tecnologı́a CICYT-FEDER (Proyecto
111
2FD97-1798-C02-01) and by ALCOA Extrusion Navarra
(ALCOA Europe).
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