Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 223–231

A non-steady state FE analysis of Al tubes hot extrusion by a porthole die

H.H. Jo a , S.K. Lee b , C.S. Jung c , B.M. Kim d,∗
a
KITECH, Kajoa 4 Dong, Seo-Ku, Inchon 440-254, South Korea
b Graduate School of Precision Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Changjun-Dong San 30, Pusan 609-735, South Korea
c Module Production Dep’t HYUNDAI MOBIS, 265-5 Yeompo-Dong, Puk-Ku, Ulsan 682-040, South Korea
d ERC for Net Shape and Die Manufacturing, Pusan National University, 30 Changjeon-Dong, Kumjeong-Ku, Pusan 609-735, South Korea

Received 22 May 2001; received in revised form 8 May 2002; accepted 4 March 2005

Abstract
Porthole die extrusion has a great advantage in the forming of hollow sections of Al alloy tubes that are difficult to produce by conventional
extrusion with a mandrel fixed at the stem. In general, the porthole die extrusion process consists of three stages (dividing, welding, and forming
stage) through the complex die structure composed of container, porthole, mandrel, welding chamber and bearing part. Thus, in order to obtain
the detailed mechanics, to assist in the design of proper die shapes and sizes, and to improve the quality of products with high welding strength,
porthole die extrusion should be analyzed in as non-steady state as possible. This paper analyzed porthole die extrusion processes through 3D
FE simulation in the non-steady state during the entire process for following process variables: initial billet temperature, bearing length, tube
thickness, and extrusion ratio. The extrusion load for each stage, the welding pressure, and the dead metal zone in the welding chamber were
examined through a numerical analysis. Extrusion loads found by FE simulation were compared with experimental results. The surface state of
extruded products was also examined. Whole investigations were made for Al7003.
© 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Hot extrusion; Porthole die; Welding pressure; Non-steady state; FE analysis

1. Introduction and the complexity of metal flow. Some of this experience

The extrusion process, which is called a welding chamber
type with a porthole die composed of multi-hole, is utilized to
produce Al alloy tubes and hollow sections [1]. The product of
hollow sections can be extruded by using special dies based on a
welding chamber with a spider die, a porthole die, a bridge die,
etc. Porthole die extrusion has a great advantage in the forming
process that can produce the hollow section product which is
difficult to be produced by conventional extrusion with a mandrel
on the stem because of the limitation of product length. Material
in the container flows through the porthole with multi-hole, and
this material is divided through the number of portholes and is
gathered and welded by high pressure in the welding chamber.
Therefore, this process is limited to materials such as Al alloys,
which have low shear strengths at the extrusion temperature.
Porthole die extrusion has mainly been executed based on
the experience of experts, due to the complicated die assembly
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 51 510 3074; fax: +82 51 514 7640.
E-mail address: bmkim@pusan.ac.kr (B.M. Kim).
is rationalized in empirical design rules, but most of the die
designs are still dependent on personal judgment, intuition, and
experience. It is thus necessary to establish a database for various
conditions in order to design optimal dies. It is very important
to know the detailed mechanics, velocity and temperature
fields of moving materials. Such information is very useful for
properly designing dies and improving the quality of products.
Several researchers have studied the non-steady state porthole
extrusion through experiments and a steady state FE analysis
[2–5].
In porthole die extrusion, it is very important to know the
characteristics of metal flow and welding pressure that occurs
when neighbouring divided materials are welded in a chamber.
Metal flow and welding strength has a large effect on mechanical
properties and the quality of products. To increase the welding
strength, a metal has to flow appropriately and develop an Al
alloy with a good extrudability and superior mechanical prop-
erties. Metal flow, extrusion load, and welding strength during
non-steady state extrusion is affected by many parameters, such
as the extrusion ratio, extrusion speed, die shape, bearing length,
billet and container temperatures. The metal flow and pressure

0924-0136/$ – see front matter © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2005.03.039
224 H.H. Jo et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 223–231

Fig. 2. 2D schematic diagram of the charge welding.

Table 1
Chemical compositions of the billet material (wt.%)
Mg 0.6, 1.0
Si 0.3
Fe 0.1
Cu 0.15
Mn 0.2
Cr 0.1
Fig. 1. Split tool assembly used in the porthole extrusion. Zn 6.0
Zr 0.15
Al Rem.
distribution on the welding plane in the welding chamber are
also influenced by these conditions.
Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze the non- 2.2. Hot compression test
steady state porthole die extrusion through three stages: dividing,
welding, and forming stages by using FE analysis. The extrusion In order to obtain the flow stress data (true stress/true strain
loads are calculated for different process variables, such as the relationships) for the improved Al7003, hot compression test
extrusion ratio, initial billet temperature, bearing length, and was performed at 400, 430, and 460 ◦ C temperatures and 0.1,
tube thickness for the same extrusion ratio. Improved Al7003 [6] 1, and 5 s−1 strain rates. A 25-t hydraulic press was used for
with Mg 0.6 wt.% and Mg 1.0 wt.%, respectively, were extruded. the hot compression test with a Ø10 mm × 15 mm compression
There results were compared with experiments for Mg 1.0 wt.%. specimen. To prevent oxidation and to obtain a lubricant effect
The behavior of metal flow and welding pressure in the welding in hot processing, the specimens were treated with B-N coating.
chamber is also investigated. In addition, the surface state of the The material used for hot compression test was Al7003 alloy [7].
extruded tubes for each process variable is investigated. Table 1 shows the compositions of an improved Al7003 alloy
with two different Mg contents: 0.6 and 1.0 wt.%.
2. FE analysis of the extrusion process
2.3. FE model of porthole extrusion process
2.1. Metal flow in porthole extrusion process
Welding strength is affected by many parameters such as the
Metal flow in porthole extrusion is very complex because extrusion ratio, the initial billet temperature, bearing length, and
of the complicated die structure. Fig. 1 shows the schematic the product thickness. The improved Al7003 were extruded at a
tool assembly used in the porthole die extrusion. Porthole die porthole die with a container 75 mm in diameter. Table 2 presents
consists of a container, porthole die with a mandrel, and the the process variables used in FE analysis and experiment. The
welding chamber where the divided materials are welded to each
other. Fig. 2 shows the extrusion process in which the billet starts Table 2
from the container to the exit of the die through portholes and Parameters of the extrusion process
the chamber as the ram moves. Procedures of the porthole die Parameters Values
extrusion were presented in Fig. 3. Fig. 3(a) shows the dividing
stage in which the billet is divided into several portholes at the Billet diameter (mm) 74
Bridge height (mm) 38.5
bridges of the die. Fig. 3(b) shows the welding stage in which Chamber height (mm) 20
divided materials flow through the welding chamber and are Initial billet temperature (◦ C) 400, 430, 460
welded to each other to generate the welding plane. Fig. 3(c) Bearing length (mm) 3, 4.5, 6
shows the forming stage in which the welded material flows Product thickness (mm) 1.5, 1.6, 1.7 at the same extrusion ratio 43
finally to form a required hollow section, then flows out through Extrusion ratio 37, 43, 50
Extrusion speed (mm/s) 1
the die exit. Fig. 3(d) shows the shape of a cross-section that is Container/die friction factor 0.7
welded in the welding plane.
 H.H. Jo et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 223–231 225

Fig. 3. Procedure of the porthole die extrusion: (a) dividing stage, (b) welding stage, (c) forming stage, (d) welding plane.

friction factor between material and tools was assumed 0.7
which is usually applied in non-lubricant extrusion of Al alloys
[8]. Table 3 shows the thermal properties of material and tools
for the non-steady state FE analysis [6,9].
Fig. 4 shows the actual die assembly dimensions used in the
process analysis of the porthole die extrusion, in which the con-
tainer and chamber are assumed to be rigid body.
This model was applied in FE analysis and an experiment to
obtain the extrusion load, the flow pattern of material under
extrusion, the temperature distribution of the billet, die and
the pressure distribution of the welding plane. In order to FE
simulation, DEFORM 3D S/W program [10] was used. For
investigations a one-eighth section of die assembly was selected
due to the symmetry condition.
3. Results of the FE analysis and the experiment
Fig. 5 shows the experimental apparatus used for the porthole
die extrusion. Billets used for the experiment are the improved
Al7003 with Mg 0.6 wt.% and Mg 1.0 wt.%. The ram speed was

Table 3
Thermal properties of billet and tool material
Material Thermal conductivity Heat capacity Emissivity Interface heat
(N/s/◦ C) (N/mm2 /◦ C) (N/s/mm/C4 ) coefficient (N/s/mm/C)

Billet Al7003 180 2.419 0.3 40

Container and chamber H13 28.6 3.574 0.3
226 H.H. Jo et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 223–231

Fig. 4. Dimension of porthole die used in the study.

1.0 mm/s for each process condition. The die with four port-
holes was used for each process. The length of the porthole was
38.5 mm, and the height of the chamber was 20 mm. The inner
diameter of chamber was 65 mm, which was the same as the
circumference of the porthole’s diameter.

3.1. Distribution of velocity and temperature

Fig. 6 shows the distribution of temperature at each stage.

In Fig. 6, as the ram proceeds, the heat generated by plastic
deformation and friction at the interface between the material
and the die causes gradual increase of the material temperature
[11–13].
Fig. 7 illustrates the distributions of velocity at each stage for
the above mentioned extrusion conditions. Because the velocity
is affected by the friction between the material and the die, the

Fig. 6. The distribution of temperature at each stage when initial billet temper-
ature 400 ◦ C, bearing length 4.5 mm, tube thickness 1.7 mm and extrusion ratio
50: (a) dividing stage, (b) welding stage, (c) forming stage.

velocity on the surface is lower than the internal velocity. The

velocity fields of the material are different, due to the extrusion
ratio at each stage.

3.2. The effects of extrusion ratio on the extrusion loads

Fig. 8 shows the load–stroke curve resulting from FE analysis

Fig. 5. Experimental apparatus for porthole extrusion. when the extrusion ratios are 37, 43, and 50, at initial billet tem-
 H.H. Jo et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 223–231 227

Fig. 8. The extrusion stroke–load curves according to extrusion ratio (initial

billet temperature: 460 ◦ C, bearing length: 0.6 mm, tube thickness: 0.7 mm).

ing plane. Pθ is the maximum welding pressure on the welding

plane. Y is the average flow stress of material.

3.3. The effects of extrusion initial billet temperature on the

extrusion loads

Fig. 9 shows maximum extrusion load in the experiment and

FE analysis when the initial billet temperature is 400, 430 and
460 ◦ C for Al7003 with Mg 1.0 wt.%, bearing length of 4.5 mm,
and product thickness of 1.7 mm.
As shown in Fig. 9, the extrusion load gradually decreases
as the billet temperature increases. In particular, when the billet
temperature is about 460 ◦ C, the extrusion load rapidly decreases
because the flow stress of the material at around 460 ◦ C is much
lower than at 400 and 430 ◦ C. Thus, the FE results agree with
the experimental results.
Table 5 shows the maximum value of each load, temperature,
and welding pressure obtained from FE simulations. The max-
imum welding pressure (Pθ ) is about 4.3–5.6 times the higher
than average flow stress when the welding occurs near the bear-
ing. Welding pressure tended to increase with growth of the billet
temperature.

Fig. 7. The distribution of velocity at each stage when initial billet temperature
400 ◦ C, bearing length 4.5 mm, tube thickness 1.7 mm and extrusion ratio 50:
(a) dividing stage, (b) welding stage, (c) forming stage.

perature of 460 ◦ C, bearing length of 6 mm, and tube thickness

of 1.7 mm. The maximum extrusion load rises greatly with the
increase of the extrusion ratio. The deformation constraint grad-
ually rises, due to an increase in the extrusion ratio. Therefore,
the increase in the welding pressure resulted from high pressure
in the welding chamber.
Table 4 shows the maximum value of each load, temperature,
and welding pressure obtained from FE simulations. In Table 4, Fig. 9. The maximum extrusion loads according to initial billet temperature and
Pθ /Y is non-dimensional value of welding pressure on the weld- Mg content.
228 H.H. Jo et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 223–231

Table 4
Maximum extrusion loads when the initial billet temperature is 460 ◦ C, bearing length is 6 mm, and product thickness is 1.7 mm
Extrusion ratio Maximum load (t) Maximum billet Maximum mandrel Maximum chamber Maximum Pθ /Y
temperature (◦ C) temperature (◦ C) temperature (◦ C)

37 465.4 518.2 416.5 428.0 4.7

43 482.2 530.3 420.7 420.7 5.4
50 505.7 538.8 429.2 429.2 6.0

Table 5
Maximum extrusion loads when the bearing length is 4.5 mm and the product thickness is 1.7 mm
Initial billet Maximum load (t) Maximum billet Maximum mandrel Maximum chamber Maximum Pθ /Y
temperature (◦ C) temperature (◦ C) temperature (◦ C) temperature (◦ C)

400 529.3 507.2 413.4 421.8 4.3

430 518.2 515.4 418.5 426.1 4.6
460 477.6 534.8 425.7 425.7 5.2

Fig. 10. The maximum extrusion loads according to bearing length and Mg Fig. 11. The extrusion loads according to tube thickness and Mg content.
content.

tended to rise greatly with an increase in the bearing length.

3.4. The effects of bearing length on the extrusion loads
Fig. 10 shows the maximum extrusion loads obtained from
experiments and FE analysis of bearing lengths. Initial billet
temperature was 400 ◦ C and the product thickness was 1.7 mm.
The extrusion loads gradually increased with the increase
in the bearing length. The extrusion load is nearly constant
according to the bearing length because the friction area in the
bearing is relatively small in comparison with the total friction
area.
The maximum extrusion load, temperature and welding pres-
sure are summarized in Table 6. The welding pressure (Pθ )
From the difference in the welding pressure, the bearing length
greatly affected welding pressure but hardly affected the billet
surface temperature at the exit [14,15].
3.5. The effects of tube thickness on the extrusion loads
Fig. 11 shows the maximum extrusion loads for tube thick-
ness through experiments and FE analysis when the tube thick-
nesses are 1.5 and 1.7 mm at the same extrusion ratio, 43. To
maintain the same extrusion ratio, the inner and the outer diam-
eters were, respectively, selected at 14.8 and 17.8 mm when
tube thickness was 1.5 mm. The inner and the outer diameters

Table 6
Maximum extrusion loads when the initial billet temperature is 400 ◦ C and the product thickness is 1.7 mm
Bearing Maximum Maximum billet Maximum mandrel Maximum chamber Maximum Pθ /Y
length (mm) load (t) temperature (◦ C) temperature (◦ C) temperature (◦ C)

3 524.6 506.1 411.2 419.7 3.5

4.5 529.3 507.2 413.4 421.8 4.3
6 536.9 509.8 418.6 425.9 5.8
 H.H. Jo et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 223–231 229

Table 7
The maximum extrusion loads when the initial billet temperature is 400 ◦ C and the bearing length is 4.5 mm
Maximum product Maximum Maximum billet Maximum mandrel Maximum chamber Maximum Pθ /Y
thickness (mm) load (t) temperature (◦ C) temperature (◦ C) temperature (◦ C)

1.5 532.1 514.50 417.7 424.2 4.5

1.6 530.7 512.3 415.6 422.9 4.3
1.7 529.3 507.2 413.4 421.8 4.3

Fig. 13. Distribution of normalized velocities and flow line on planes A and
Fig. 12. Dead metal zone in the welding chamber.
B when initial billet temperature is 400 ◦ C, bearing length is 4.5 mm and tube
thickness is 1.7 mm.

were, respectively, 13.8 and 17 mm when the tube thickness was

1.6 mm. Also, the inner and the outer diameters were, respec-
tively, 12.6 and 16 mm when the tube thickness was 1.7 mm, the
initial billet temperature was 400 ◦ C and the bearing length was
4.5 mm.
The extrusion loads made no difference in the tube thick-
ness because of the same extrusion ratio and a consistent shape.
Therefore, product thickness has little influence on the welding
pressure.
Table 7 summarizes the maximum value of the extrusion
loads, billet temperature, welding pressure, etc. Welding pres-
sure made no difference as like extrusion loads.
3.6. Metal flow in the welding chamber
Fig. 12 shows dead metal zone in the welding chamber when
the initial billet temperature is 400 ◦ C, the bearing length is
4.5 mm, and tube thickness is 1.7 mm. Fig. 13 presents the veloc-
ity distribution of the flow line on symmetric A and B planes.
Divided billets were welded in the symmetric A plane and four
porthole located in the symmetric B plane which formed 45◦
angle with the A plane [16].
At the symmetric A plane, dead metal zone occurs near the
region of the bearing. At the symmetric B plane, dead metal

Fig. 14. Distribution of pressure on plane A when initial billet temperature is 400 and 430 ◦ C, bearing length is 4.5 mm and tube thickness is 1.7 mm: (a) 400 ◦ C, (b)
430 ◦ C.
230 H.H. Jo et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 223–231
Table 8
The surface states of the extruded products for each condition
Product thickness (mm) Initial billet temperature (◦ C)
1.5 400
1.7 400
1.7 400
1.7 430
1.7 460
1.7 400
1.7 400
1.7 400
zone occurs in the circumference corner of the chamber. Fig. 14
shows the distribution of pressure on the symmetric A plane at
which the divided material was welded. The maximum welding
pressure at the bearing part generated when the divided materials
were welded.
3.7. Surface state of tubes
In a porthole die extrusion, the possibility of the occurrence
of surface defects can be very high, especially due to tempera-
ture increase caused by deformation, friction, and internal shear
deformation energy when it comes out of the bearing part.
Table 8 shows the surface states of extruded tubes according
to various extrusion conditions. In this study, in order to com-
pare the surface state, the surface roughness was measure by
the surface roughness measuring instrument (Mitutoya SJ-201,
made in Japan). The surface defects depending on the thickness
of the products did not appear remarkably at the same extrusion
ratio. The higher billet temperature, the worse surface state of
the products. As shown at 400 ◦ C, the product surface was very
sound and had no surface defect. At the initial billet temper-
ature 430 and 460 ◦ C, several stripes were partly observed in
the extruded direction and the surface state was worse than at
400 ◦ C. The surface defects appeared when the bearing length
was 3 mm, but it could get more sound surface for 4 and 6 mm.
As stated above, it can be predicted that the tube thickness
under the same extrusion ratio does not highly influence the
Bearing length (mm) Surface states Surface roughness
4.5 0.315
4.5 0.313
4.5 0.313
4.5 0.502
4.5 0.478
3 0.453
4.5 0.313
6 0.307
occurrence of surface defects, opposite to high influence of ini-
tial billet temperature. As shown by the example in Table 8,
hollow tubes with the soundest surface can be obtained when the
initial billet temperature is 400 ◦ C, the bearing length is 6 mm,
and the thickness of products is 1.5 and 1.7 mm.
4. Conclusions
In this study, non-steady state FE analysis and extrusion
experiment were performed to understand the metal flow, extru-
sion load and so on with respect to process parameters for the
porthole die extrusion. The following conclusions can be drawn:
(1) The extrusion load increases with increasing extrusion ratio.
However, the extrusion load decreases with respect to an
increase of the initial billet temperature. The extrusion load
was not much affected by the bearing length within the range
of 3 and 6 mm. The extrusion load made no difference to the
tube thickness at the same extrusion ratio, 43.
(2) The welding pressure in the chamber, measured by FE-
simulations was the greatest when the initial billet temper-
ature was 460 ◦ C and the bearing length was 6 mm. The
maximum welding pressure Pθ on the welding plane was
approximately 3.5–5.8 times higher than the average flow
stress.
(3) On the welding plans, the welding pressure grows with an
increase of the initial billet temperature and bearing length.
 H.H. Jo et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 173 (2006) 223–231
(4) The billet temperature has a strong influence on the occur-
rence of surface defects. The lower billet temperature, the
finer surface state at bearing length 4.5 and 6 mm.
(5) A dead metal zone occurs in a limited region of the bear-
ing on the welding plane, and the plane, which formed 45◦
angle with the porthole, is formed dead metal zone in the
circumference corner of the chamber.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank the Engineering Research Center
for Net Shape and Die Manufacturing, located at Pusan National
University, Pusan, South Korea, for the support of this research.
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