Inhomogeneity in deformation, microstructure, tensile properties and damage development in AA1050 during multiple cycles of pure shear extrusion

Effect of multiple cycles of pure shear extrusion (PSE) on the homogeneity of microstructure, mechanical properties, strain distribution and development of damage in AA1050 aluminum alloy is investigated. For this purpose, samples are extracted from different regions of PSE specimens, i.e., from the surface, center and corner. After one cycle of PSE, both microstructure and tensile properties are found to be distributed inhomogeneousely throughout the sample. In fact, higher flow stresses are measured in the tensile test samples which are extracted from surface and corner rather than those extracted from the center. In general, by increasing the number of cycles, the inhomogeneity of microstructure and tensile properties reduces. Indeed, after four cycles of PSE, a relatively homogeneous microstructure and tensile properties throughout the PSE specimen is achieved. Strain distribution and development of damage are analyzed by means of finite element method. It is observed that similar to experimental results, by imposing further cycles of deformation, strain homogeneity increases whereas more significant damage development occurs.