MODELLING AND SIMULATION OF ECAP AND P-ECAP TECHNIQUES OF GRAIN INDUCEMENT IN MILD STEEL

D E Esezobor; H. O. Onovo, M. A. Bodude; A. O. Ojo

D E Esezobor Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, University of Lagos, Nigeria.
H. O. Onovo, M. A. Bodude Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos
A. O. Ojo Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Manitoba, Canada.

Keywords: deformation, formability, strain, strength, toughness

Abstract

Due to major obstacles associated with the powder consolidation methods of producing bulk nano materials such as high cost, contamination and porosity, severe plastic deformation (SPD) technology, specifically the equal channels angular pressing (ECAP) technique is used with modifications to numerically simulate the much needed grain refinement in steel. Attempts are made in this study to investigate influence of processing parameters such as deformation routes, temperature, load and number of processing passes on the degree of strain inducement in steel. This study however, aimed at developing fourth generation metals of exceptional strength, formability and toughness. The materials used in this work include conventional mild steel and ABAQUS commercial software. Simulation and modeling of the proposed deformation and ECAP techniques were done using finite element based-method (FEM). The results obtained indicate that the desired performance index of the metal is dependent on the state of the metal prior to ECAP and the degree of deformation