Microstructure Prediction in Aluminium Extrusion by Means of FEM Simulation

An original inverse extrusion test was developed in order to study the microstructural evolution in the plastic deformation of 6060 and 6082 aluminium alloys. Sample billets were extracted from commercial logs and subjected to plastic deformation in an inverse extrusion process, particularly aimed at producing different strain and strain rate conditions at representative positions within the billet section. Different experiments were performed at various temperatures and strain rates. The particular thermo-mechanical history of each point in different experiments was then reconstructed by FEM analysis. The cups were sectioned and the microstructure was analysed at some representative locations, to relate it to the FEM simulation results.