The Effects of Process Parameters on Evolutions of Thermodynamics and Microstructures for Composite Extrusion of Magnesium Alloy

Abstract

To research the effects of process parameters on evolutions of extrusion force and temperature rise and microstructures for composite extrusion of magnesium alloy which includes initial extrusion and shearing process subsequently and is shortened for “ES” in this paper, the ES extrusion process has been researched by using finite element modeling (FEM) technology. The rules of temperature rise and the extrusion force varying with process parameters have been developed. The thermal-mechanical coupling finite element models including the geometric and FEM models and solution conditions were applied to calculate the effective strain and temperature and extrusion force during ES extrusion. The maximum temperature rises in the billets do not increase with billet temperature rising. The temperature of rod surface increased continuously with development of ES extrusion. The evolutions of extrusion load curve and effective stress and temperature can be divided into three stages obviously. Extrusion experiments have been constructed to validate the FEM models with different process conditions. The simulation results and microstructure observation showed that ES process can introduce compressive and accumulated shear strain into the magnesium alloy. The ES extrusion would cause severe plastic deformation and improve the dynamic recrystallization during ES extrusion. The microstructures show that ES is an efficient and inexpensive grain refinement method for magnesium alloys.