The present invention relates to a process for causing continuous severe plastic deformation of metals, and in particular for creating nanostructured metals.
Bulk nanostructured metals (nanometals) attract substantial attention due to their unique mechanical and physical properties. For example, at low temperatures, an ultra fine grain size (<1 μm) doubles the strength and toughness of the material and, at high temperatures, it leads to superplastic behaviour at the strain rate which is one order higher than for traditional superplastic materials. The preferred method of producing bulk nanometals, which avoids health issues associated with nanopowders, is severe plastic deformation (SPD). In this, a very large plastic deformation (true strain 3-10 depending on the material) subdivides the coarse grain structure of all types of metals into sub-micron and nano grain structure. SPD processes are different from traditional metal forming processes by their ability to retain the shape of the workpiece.
There are two groups of SPD processes—batch and continuous processes. Batch processes deal with relatively short billets with a limited length to width ratio (about 6). They are usually used for laboratory purposes to produce samples for further tests. The most popular batch process is Equal Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP) also known as Equal Channel Angular Extrusion (ECAE). Examples of this are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,633, U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,512, U.S. Pat. No. 5,600,989, U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,755, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,904,062. In this process, a rectangular or cylindrical bar is pushed from one section of a constant profile channel to another section orientated at an angle ≧90° to the first one, as shown in
There will be cases when a batch process is technically justified and economically viable. However, for high volume production of variety of nanostructured metals a continuous process would be much more valuable to industry. Such a process could be a real breakthrough and allow production and implementation of nanostructured metals on a large scale.
Various continuous SPD processes have been proposed. Some of these are derived from the so-called Conform process. This is described by Y. Saito, H. Utsunomiya, H. Suzuki: in M. Geiger (Ed), Advanced Technology of Plasticity, Springer, 1999, Vol. III, pp. 2459-2464; J. C. Lee, H. K. Seok, J. H. Han, Y. H. Chung, Mater. Res. Bull. 36 (2001), 997-1004 and G. J. Raab, R. Z. Valiev, T. C. Lowe and Y. T. Zhu, Mater. Sci. Eng. A328 (2004), 30-34. The original Conform process was not intended for nanostructuring. This is a continuous lateral extrusion process with the material led to the extrusion chamber by a grooved wheel and constrained by an abutment, as shown in
Equal Channel Angular Drawing (ECAD) is another proposed continuous SPD process. This is described by A. B. Suriadi and P. F. Thomson in Proc. of Australasia-Pacific Forum on Intelligent Processing & Manufacturing of Materials, IPMM, 1997, pp. 920-926. In this, the workpiece is pulled through a die, as shown in
Another proposed technique is accumulated roll bonding (ARB). This is described by Y. Saito, N. Tsuji, H. Utsunomiya, T. Sakai, R. G. Hong, in Scripta Mater, 39 (1998) No. 9, 1221-1227. In this a rolled sheet is cut, cleaned, stacked and hot rolled again, as shown in
U.S. Pat. No. 6,197,129 B1 describes another proposal. This is referred to as repetitive corrugation and straightening (RCS). RCS involves bending of a straight plate/bar between corrugated rolls and then restoring the straight shape of the plate/bar with smooth rolls, as shown in
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved continuous severe plastic deformation process.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of treating a metal billet to change its mechanical and/or physical properties by reducing grain size, the method involving forcing the billet through a first passage and into a second passage inclined to the first passage using a feeding mechanism and deforming the billet using a reciprocating die at a junction between the first and second passages.
By using a reciprocating die as the working die, the billet material is subjected to a sequence of loading and unloading. The loading phase deforms the billet plastically to change its structure and properties, whilst the unloading phase reduces the load needed to keep the billet moving from the first to the second passage.
The method may further involve positioning the reciprocating die away from a constraining position, feeding the billet to an extended position that is beyond the constraining position of the die and moving the reciprocating die back towards its constraining position and into deforming contact with the billet. The steps of positioning, feeding and moving may be repeated. After each incremental feeding step the billet may be restrained in its extended position. The billet may be clamped or supported in position. Alternatively, the billet may be continuously moved through the first passage. The speed of continuous movement of the billet must be synchronised with the reciprocating action of the working die so that billet loading/unloading occurs.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for treating a metal billet to change its mechanical and/or physical properties by reducing grain size, the apparatus having means for defining a first and a second passage, the second passage being consecutive with and inclined to the first passage, a feeding mechanism for feeding the billet through the first and second passages and a reciprocable die at a junction between the first and second passages for causing plastic deformation of the billet. The apparatus may include three or more passages.
The means for defining the first and second passages may be two or more dies. At least one of the dies may be operable to clamp the billet in place.
The apparatus may further include means for positioning the reciprocating die away from a constraining position, and means for causing the billet to be fed to an extended position that is beyond the constraining position of the die, wherein the means for positioning the die are operable to move it back towards its constraining position and into deforming contact with the billet.
The working face of the reciprocable die may be flat or profiled, for example, may include a spike to improve the flow of material.
Various embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
The method in which the invention is embodied involves treating a metal billet to change its mechanical and/or physical properties by reducing grain size by forcing the billet through a first passage and into a second passage consecutive with and inclined to the first passage using a feeding mechanism and deforming the billet using a reciprocating die at a junction between the first and second passages, the reciprocating die being operable to sequentially load and unload the billet.
The method in which the invention is embodied can be implemented in a number of ways. In a first example, three simple dies, A, B and C are used, as shown in
To reduce the effort required for feeding the billet through the dies, movement of the working die C is synchronised with an incremental feeding sequence of the billet. The sequence of operations involves moving the dies B and C away from the billet to enable the billet to be moved by a distance “a” so that it sticks out by the same distance beyond the die B.
The geometrical analysis of the material flow in the “dashed” zone leads to the conclusion that the mode of deformation is that of simple shear. For the purpose of analysis this process is split into two steps. Shearing the parallelepiped PP1 of
More detailed analysis of the material flow is possible by using a Finite Element Method (FEM) simulation.
On some machines, an easier option is to have the angle of movement of the working die equal to 0°, so that the feeding direction and die movement direction are the same.
To facilitate material flow, the working die F has a spike at a position that corresponds to the junction between the two dies, thereby to help direct each billet into an appropriate one of the second or third passages. A small chamfer on the leading part of both billets helps initiate the process. Using two billets simultaneously provides a number of practical advantages, including higher productivity, the avoidance of the eccentric force (more important for the channel angle >90°) and tool simplification.
In use, two billets are fed side-by-side into the first passage D, E and moved towards die F, which is in its open, unloading position. This is continued until the billets engage with the working face of die F, see
In use of the arrangement of
In all of the above examples, the peak-to-peak amplitude of the reciprocating die movement should not be excessive compared to the thickness of the processed billet, otherwise it causes non-uniform strain distribution, as shown in
Since in most practical embodiments, the feeding advance is the same as the working stroke of the reciprocating die, this puts a limit on the average feeding speed. To improve productivity, thin billets could be avoided, parallel processing of billets could be considered and the frequency of the reciprocating movement could be increased. This frequency can be varied as desired depending on the application, and could be in the range of up to ultrasonic frequency, i.e. over 20 kHz.
In all of the embodiments described with reference to
The present invention provides a substantially continuous severe plastic deformation process that uses interrupted feeding, based on alternative clamping and feeding of the billet, without the material being deformed during the feeding, or substantially continuous feeding, without the material being deformed in at least part of the feeding process. Because the force required for this type of feeding is small or substantially zero, this means that infinitely long billets can be processed. This provides numerous advantages, such as inexpensive tooling and the possibility of using a standard press with an additional feeding/clamping system. In addition, only low forces and tool pressures are needed. Also, because one of the dies is designed to reciprocate, it can be readily moved to provide good access for applying lubricants. Furthermore, provided a suitable feeding rate is used, the strain distribution is highly uniform. There is also no need for a special shape of the leading part of the billet (except chamfering in some cases) and no restrictions on the length, thickness and width of billets. In addition the invention allows for the possibility of parallel processing of long billets and strips/plates. Continuous feeding can also be applied, provided the feeding speed is not excessive compared to the speed of reciprocating die, so that material unloading can be realised, thereby reducing the feeding force.
A skilled person will appreciate that variations of the disclosed arrangements are possible without departing from the invention. For example, although in the drawings, the angle between the channels is shown as 90°, this is not essential. Also, the angle at which the working die “attacks” the material does not need to be 45°—this can be varied for particular applications. In addition, the number of channel turns can be more than one and the working die can be flat as well as profiled. Additionally, although the billet is described as having a rectangular cross section, it could equally be square or round. Also, although in some embodiments the passages are described as having substantially equal cross sections, this is not essential. The leading end of the billet can be flat as well as profiled (chamfered). Furthermore, an excitation signal may be applied to the die to cause it to vibrate, these vibrations being superimposed on the macro-sinusoidal/reciprocating movement of the die. The applied signal may be an ultrasonic signal. Accordingly, the above description of specific embodiments is made by way of example only and not for the purposes of limitations. It will be clear to the skilled person that minor modifications may be made without significant changes to the operation described.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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0506091.8 | Mar 2005 | GB | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/GB2006/000986 | 3/21/2006 | WO | 00 | 1/29/2008 |