Influencing the gradient of material properties by gradation extrusion

Designing material characteristics by grain refinement using Severe Plastic Deformation (SPD) is an attractive way to create outstanding material properties. This paper presents a unique method which combines SPD and impact extrusion. The extrusion die is designed to create additional material deformation to a defined depth, resulting in a gradient from ultra-fine grained to coarse grained microstructure. Due to the large gradient the method is called gradation extrusion. The paper presents a new analytical calculation method and a numerical evaluation of the strain, showing the relationship between tool design and achievable effects and provides initial experimental results.