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Effects of Cold Extrusion on Material Properties

Experiment Findings · October 2018

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.28696.14082

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 Course Project
Effects of Cold Extrusion on Material Properties
Ishan Johri, Kshitij Sunil, Priyansh Jain, Chinmay Pramodkumar Gedam, Jayateertha Deshpande, Harieeshwar
IIST SOM Lab
(Dated: October 30, 2018)
Extrusion is a cold working process by which a block of metal is reduced in cross section by forcing
it to flow through a die orifice under high pressure. It is extensively used in industries for processing
primary and secondary materials.

1. INTRODUCTION formation. Dislocation is a linear lattice defect that is

Most metallic materials are subjected to plastic forming
during some part of the manufacturing cycles. Indus-
trial deformation processes can be divided into two parts
namely bulk forming processes and sheet forming pro-
cesses. Major bulk deformation processes include forg-
ing, drawing, rolling and extrusion where whole volume
of the workpiece is deformed [1].
Metal can be formed either hot (above the recrystal-
lization temperature) or cold. Greater deformation is
possible during hot working and lower forming energies
are required for the same. However, cold forming pro-
duces improved surface finish and increases the strength
of the product due to strain hardening.
Extrusion is a cold working process by which a block
of metal is reduced in cross section by forcing it to flow
through a die orifice under high pressure. It is exten-
sively used in industrial manufacturing of equipments for
which a higher aspect ratio is required. The simplest im-
plementation of the process requires the use of a press
(usually hydraulic), a carefully designed die (parameters
of its design include the essentially important die angle,
thickness, material, etc.) and a punch of appropriate di-
mension and material.
Extrusion is further divided into two types: direct ex-
trusion and indirect extrusion. Direct extrusion involves
displacement of workpiece in the direction of ram move-
ment. Indirect extrusion involves displacement of work-
piece opposite to the direction of ram motion.
This study is conducted to understand the effect of cold
extrusion on important material properties like hardness,
Young’s modulus, and electrical conductivity.
The tests employed to measure different material
properties include standard compression test on UTM,
Vicker’s and Rockwell hardness tests and a conductivity
test. Microstructure of the extruded specimen was also
studied under a reflecting microscope in order to investi-
gate the change in microstructure after extrusion.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1. Theory
As a material is cold worked the dislocations present
in the lattice start moving which leads to plastic de-
responsible for nearly all aspects of the plastic defor-
mation of metals. By virtue of this plastic deformation
at room temperature dislocation density in lattice
increases which leads to strain hardening. Dislocation
density plays an important role in material properties,
as the dislocations hinder each other’s motion and lead
to decrease in movement of strain fields and hence
hardness and strength of material increases with increas-
ing dislocation density while Young’s modulus, being
material’s characteristic property, remains constant.
Simultaneously, there will be a decrease in ductility of
material, and the material may show brittle failures
like cracks, due to localised piling up of dislocations.
Also electrical conductivity will decrease. All cold
working processes like extrusion, forging, rolling and
wire drawing will significantly increase the strength
due to strain hardening. The above said effects have
been mentioned in Fig.1. These processes lead to an
anisotropic response of the material towards any test
conducted on it.
FIG. 1. Effects of different process on different properties of
material
Hence, cold working is plastically deforming the metals
at a temperature such that the strain hardening is not re-
lieved. In due process, there is an increase in dislocation
count and grain elongation observed.
The advantages of using cold working over other
working processes are that it provides good dimensional
tolerances, good surface finish and improved strength.
Plus, it is a manufacturing process which requires no
considerable heating and provides an increased corrosion

resistance
2.1.1. Extrusion
The two basic types of extrusion are direct extrusion (for-
ward extrusion) and indirect extrusion (also called as in-
verted, or back extrusion). In direct extrusion, the metal
billet is placed in a container and driven through the die
using the ram. A dummy block is placed at the end of
the ram in contact with the billet as shown in Fig.2. In
indirect extrusion, a hollow ram carries the die, while the
other end of the container is closed with a plate. The ram
containing the die is kept stationary, and the container
with the billet is moved.
Impact extrusion is a process used to produce short
lengths of hollow shapes. It may be either indirect or
direct extrusion.[2].
An important factor in the manufacturing process is
the extrusion die angle; it is a large determinant in the
flow of the material. The amount of force necessary to
form a certain cross sections will vary with different die
angles. A lower angle will create more friction at the
work-die interface. Greater die angles produces greater
material flow, particularly in the outer regions away
from the centre. All factors must be calculated in the
design of a metal extrusion process. The exact optimum
die angle is difficult to determine for any metal extrusion
process due to the influence of other operational factors,
such as temperature and lubrication. The manufacturing
engineer must try to provide the best angle based on all
the considerations of a given operation [3].
FIG. 2. Schematic representation of extrusion process. Re-
produced from [4]
Lubrication is used, in manufacturing industry, to
ease metal flow during extrusion over the work-mold
surfaces as shown in figure 3. Soaps, oils, graphite
immersed in oil and many other special lubricants are
all used in the manufacturing industry to extrude parts.
Significance of lubrication is that if effective lubrication
2
can be obtained, an appreciable increase in the allowable
extrusion ratio for a given capacity press can be secured.
In addition, higher extrusion speeds are possible with
lubrication because less heat is produced. Also, for a
given extrusion ratio the loads on the tools will be lower
with effective lubrication.
FIG. 3. Flow pattern in direct extrusion. (a) Lubricated
billet, (b) High billet-container friction. Reproduced from [2]
For an axisymmetric application of frictional forces, the
end product always has a bulged radial end surface ow-
ing to the differential flow of material. The primary cause
for the material flow profile is the difference in frictional
forces as you move from the inner surface to the cen-
tre radially. The frictional forces decreases from the end
to the centre giving a paraboloid profile. The bending
effect or the arbitrarily called banana effect is also a con-
sequence of the frictional forces. But, here the frictional
forces don’t vary in an axisymmetric manner rather are
distributed about a bent axis. Hence, even along the sur-
face of the die there may exist a difference in the frictional
forces.
The reasons for the above complication are uneven ap-
plication of forces along the extrusion apparatus due to
tightening of bolts and offset in point of application of
force by the hydraulic press, insufficient or uneven appli-
cation of lubricant round the extrusion hole causing dif-
ference in friction, misalignment between the hydraulic
press axis and the extrusion apparatus axis. A source of
personal error is when the apparatus is pulled out of its
place from the hydraulic press machine making contact
with the lower part of the machine base. This causes
considerable amount of bending. Mechanical pushing of
the end product out of the extrusion apparatus after the
use of the hydraulic press also may lead to a bent profile,
again due to uneven forces and needs to be avoided.
A constant load is needed to be applied for extrusion
process which depends on the cross section area ratio
of initial and final workpiece. Theoretically this load is
given by following formulations:
Pc = Average load applied, σ̄ = mean true stress or mean
flow stress, K= strength coefficient, ε1 = maximum flow
strain, Aa = initial area, Ab = final area

K × εn1
σ̄ = (1)
n+1
Aa
Pc = σ̄ × ln( ) (2)
Ab
2.1.2. Work hardening
After extrusion, hardness of the material increases due
to an increase in dislocation density. The hardness varies
gradually along the radial direction owing to the differen-
tial flow of the material which in turn results in varying
dislocation densities. The shear deformations are more
prominent at the inner surface compared to the centre
line. Since , the dislocation increase is proportional to
the extent of shear deformation we have varying disloca-
tion densities in the radial direction.
2.1.3. Change in Microstructure
To perform a micro structure analysis we need to form
a mould of the material to be analysed. This is done to
hold the apparatus in a steady manner while performing
the analysis. The mould also makes sure that there is
a direct rebound of the light incident to get the proper
picture. Once, the mould is formed a series of polishing
techniques renders the surface of the metal a mirror fin-
ish which is needed for a proper reflection. This micro
structure analysis shows us that there is a considerable
elongation of the grains in an extrusion product. This
happens because of the shear stresses suffered by the ma-
terial which in turn causes deformations.
2.1.4. Change in Conductivity
Electrical conductivity decreases with cold working
due to scattering of electrons by strain fields which act
as scattering centres and causes hindrance in flow of free
electrons. The relation between conductivity and resis-
tance for a solid cylindrical rod is given by following equa-
tion:
4.l
σ= (3)
π.R.d2
where σ is conductivity, R is resistance and, d and l
are diameter and length of rod respectively.
3
2.1.5. Compression test
While compressing a specimen, a phenomenon called bar-
relling is observed which is the lateral bulging of the ma-
terial. This is due to frictional forces between the surface
of specimen in contact with pressure plates. Due to this
frictional force, shear force is maximum on the surfaces
and decreases as we move away from contact surfaces. Al-
though, compressive (normal) stresses aren’t supposed to
deformed the specimen, it is the secondary hoop stresses
(tensile in nature) developed on the lateral surface of the
material which aids barrelling. After cold working, yield
stress of a material increases due to increase in number of
dislocations while the Young’s modulus, being a material
property, remains constant. The instantaneous stress re-
quired is related to friction coefficient between specimen
and pressure plate, diameter and height of specimen by
the following Siebel’s equation :
µ d
σ = σ̄.[1 + . ] (4)
3 h
A relation between stress applied and engineering strain
that can be deduced from the equation 4 is given below :
µ d0
σ = σ̄.[1 + . .(1 − ε)−1.5 ] (5)
3 h0
where
σ = Applied Stress
σ̄ = Mean flow stress
µ = Co-efficient of friction
d = Diameter of the specimen
h = Height of the specimen
d0 = Initial Diameter of specimen
h0 = Initial Height of specimen
ε = Engineering Strain
2.2. Equipment
With the help of lathe, specimen for the experiments were
machined as shown in the Fig. 4.
The specimens for various tests were made as shown in
the Fig. 5.
2.2.1. Extrusion
Vertical Hydraulic Press was used to perform cold extru-
sion on the specimen. The specifications of the press are
given in Table I. Die stack consisting of die with conical
entrance angle (of ∅14 mm and ∅12.5 mm) which was
supported by a die holder and a bolster was used, all of
which were held in a die head. The entire assembly was
sealed against the container on a conical seating surface.
A liner is shrunk into the container to produce pre-stress
 4

TABLE I. Specification table of Vertical hydraulic press

Type Hand Operated

Capacity 25 Ton
Ram Travel 175 mm
Between column 825 X 325 mm
Between ram to bed - 175 X 900 mm

FIG. 4. Aluminium Specimen

FIG. 6. Schematic diagram of Hydraulic press [5]

FIG. 5. Sectioned pieces of extruded aluminium specimen

ification of machine is given in the Table II.

on the inside surface of the liner. Punch is protected from

hot billet by a follower pad. A shrink ring is attached to
the die so that it can take high loads. It is also used to
minimize the possibilities of cracking of the die and in-
creases the die life. A dummy block is inserted between
the punch and the billet. Die is made up of die steel.
2.2.3. Rockwell Hardness Test
Rockwell Hardness testing machine is used to find hard-
ness of the specimen radially. The specification table of
the machine is given in Table III.

2.2.2. Vickers Hardness Test 2.2.4. Conductivity

Vickers hardness testing machine was used to find the A 6.5 digit multimeter (of least count 10− 6 Ω ) as
hardness of the specimen radially and laterally. The spec- shown in the Fig. 9 was used to find the conductivity of
 5

FIG. 7. Schematic diagram of Vickers Hardness Test [6]

FIG. 8. Schematic diagram of Vickers Hardness Test [7]

TABLE II. Vickers Hardness Testing Machine Specifications TABLE III. Rockwell Hardness Testing Machine Specifica-
◦ tions
Indenter Diamond(136 )
Machine Capacity 50 kgf Max. Test Height 220 mm
Test loads 5, 10, 20, 30, 50 kgf Depth of Throat 133 mm
Magnification of 10X Net Weight 65 kgf
measuring Device Power supply 220 Volts, Single Phase
Max. Test height 230 mm Indenter 1/16” Steel ball and Diamond
Scale least count 0.001 mm
Throat depth 135 mm
Weight 70 kg 2.3. Procedure
Dwell time 0-30 seconds, 2 sec adjustable
Commercial grade soft aluminum of diameter 16mm
was chosen for the experiment. Using lathe, the rod’s di-
the specimens. ameter was reduced to 14.8 mm. The rod was segmented
into four smaller rods of length 80 mm by lathe using
parting tool. Two of them were chosen for conversion
into different diameters of 12.5 mm and 14 mm through
extrusion process.
2.2.5. Microstructure To setup the extrusion apparatus, the internal surface
of the bolster head was lubricated with lubricating oil
Trinocular reflected light microscope machine was used to and the 12.5mm die was set into the cavity. The groove
observe the micro-structure of the specimen. The speci- of the container was oiled and the specimen was slipped
fication of the microscope is given in the Table IV. Dif- into it, preceding the dummy block. This container as-
ferent grades of emery paper and alumina were used to sembly was carefully slipped over the bolster head as-
remove scratches from the specimen. A mixture of Dia- sembly and was flipped over. The bolts were placed in a
mond paste and lubricant was used to give mirror finish- star pattern and were tightened manually, later the same
ing to the specimen. Keller’s reagent (HF, HCL, HNO3 , pattern was followed to tighten them using an allen key.
H2 O) was used for the etching process. Resin and hard- Star pattern was used to make sure that there is an even
ener were used to create the mould to hold the specimen. distribution of force and no misalignment. Hollow cylin-
drical support blocks were placed beneath the assembly
with bolster head face down in the hydraulic machine.
The punch was placed on the central axis with the pres-
sure plate placed over it. The purpose of the pressure
2.2.6. Compression
plate was to even distribute the force over the punch.
After setting up the assembly, the machine was turned
Universal testing machine was used to find the Young’s on once the parameters required were set. Simultaneous
modulus of the specimen. The specification of the ma- readings of load versus displacement were being digitally
chine is given in the Table V. recorded for further analysis. Once the extrusion process

FIG. 9. 6.5 Digit Multimeter
TABLE IV. Trinocular Reflected Light Microscope Machine
Specifications
Magnifications 50X, 100X, 200X, 500X and 1000X
Stage micrometer 10:100
Imaging Reflection - Bright field, Dark field,
mode Differential interference contrast
Transmission - Bright field, Dark
field
Image Analysis Phase fractions, Grain size mea-
surement image capturing facility
using digital camera
Stage movement range 75 X 50 mm
Focussing Coarse and fine coaxial focussing
was completed, the assembly was disassembled and the
die was separated from the bolster head. The die was
later placed over two parallel strips of metal and which
in turn were placed over the hollow support blocks. A
bolt was used to remove the extruded product from the
die using the same hydraulic process. The same was done
for the 14mm die also to get two extruded products.
The extruded products were segmented into five parts.
Three of them were cut to 10mm in length for hardness
tests, one to 20mm for UTM and the rest for micro struc-
ture using hacksaws. The unextruded rods were operated
upon on the lathe machine to 14mm and 12.5mm. 20mm
from both were cut for compression tests and 1mm for
hardness. The surfaces of specimens meant for hardness
tests and compression tests were made even through fac-
ing operation. The part for micro structure was cut us-
ing a hacksaw in a L-shaped manner. The surface of
the L-cutout(adjoining the other piece) and the leftovers
TABLE V. Specification table of Universal testing machine
Capacity 150 kN
Vertical test space 1430 mm
6
FIG. 10. Trinocular Reflected Light Microscope Machine [8]
circular cross section were polished using emery papers
of varying grades ranging from 320GV to 1500GV(grade
value).
The specimens chosen for Rockwell hardness test were
marked at 5 points including the centre in the radial di-
rection for three different equally spaced directions. The
experiment was performed using the B scale (HRB) at
the above said points. Points for which the low hardness
indication was given were re-done on a different axis but
at the same radial distance. The hardness values were
duly noted for further analysis. The was completed for
specimens of both diameters. Later, the hardness value
at the centre of the machined parts were also found.
Points were marked at displacements from the center
ranging from 1mm to 5mm and 1mm to 6mm on ra-
dial surface of extruded aluminium specimen of diameters
14mm and 12.5mm respectively. The surface of specimen
left unused while performing Rockwell Hardness test was
used for Vickers Hardness test. The specimen was placed
on testing anvil which was raised using a hand lever be-
ing moved in clockwise direction until a clear focus was
observed on the computer screen. Specimen was placed
such that the microscope was projected on the red spots
marked on the surface of the specimen and it was rotated
so as to have the Diamond indenter on the top of the red
spot on which indentation was to be done. ‘START but-
ton was pressed on the Vickers testing machine to start
the process of plastic deformation. After dwelling on the
surface for a prescribed time, the Diamond indenter was
drawn back automatically. Then again, the microscope
was projected onto specimen and the focussed surface of
indented surface was displayed right on the monitor. The
diagonal lengths of rhombus-shaped indentation on the
surface were marked on the screen. The Vickers Hard-

FIG. 11. Schematic diagram of Universal testing machine.
Reproduced from [9]
ness of specimen at that indented red spot was displayed
on the screen. The procedure was repeated for all the
red spots spread across the radial surface of specimen.
This experiment was performed for both the specimens
of aluminium of diameters 12.5mm and 14 mm respec-
tively and hardness values in every case were measured.
A similar procedure was adopted to measure hardness
values along the lateral surface. The only difference be-
ing a stand with a V-shaped groove which was used to
hold the material.
The specimens meant for compression tests were first
tested for conductivity using a 6.5 digit multimeter which
had a least count of 10e-6. The multimeter produced a
reading every second and averaged all the recorded val-
ues after every successive reading. The process was per-
formed for a time duration of 100 seconds and the values
obtained were averaged to obtain the end result.
All the four specimens were put through the compres-
sion process using a Universal testing machine. The spec-
imen was carefully placed between the two pressure plates
and the machine was turned on. The strain rate was
set to 0.5mm/min. Simultaneously, a engineering stress-
strain curve was being plotted on the screen with the
initial diameter and length being specified.
The polished specimens of 12.5mm diameter were
placed in the mould apparatus face down and the mould
comprising of resin and the hardener was mixed and
poured into the cavity. After 15 min, the hardened mould
was separated from the apparatus. The surface of the
7
mould containing the polished surfaces of the specimens
was then polished using emery paper of varying grades
ranging from 400 to 1500 grade value. Intermittently,
water was being used on the emery paper as a coolant
so that the heat produced due to frictional forces dont
affect the micro structure. The polished mould was dried
using a hair drier. Diamond polishing was performed on
a soft plane surface. This was done using a mixture of a
small amount of diamond paste and lubricant being used
to scrub on. After diamond polishing was completed, the
specimen was cleaned thoroughly using cotton drowned
in soap solution and was subsequently washed. This was
again dried using the hair dryer. Later, the etchant (a
mixture of 1ml Hydrogen fluoride(HF), 1.5ml Hydrogen
chloride(HCl), 2.5ml Hydrogen nitrate(HNO3), 95ml wa-
ter) namely Kelllers reagent was poured on the polished
surface of the mould and sustained for 30 seconds. Later,
this was thoroughly washed with tap water and dried.
The micro structure of the end product of the process
was found under a trinocular reflected light microscope.
The magnification was set at 100X and micro structure
for all three imaging modes were found. The same proce-
dure was repeated for the other mould containing speci-
mens of 14mm diameter.
2.4. Precautions
Leather shoes were worn while extrusion process was
carried out as the equipments used were heavy. Punch
and specimen were lubricated so that frictional forces
could be minimised. Bolts were tightened on bolster in
a star pattern to make sure that bolster and container
were perfectly aligned and also to ensure a even distri-
bution of force. After extrusion, the assembly of bolster,
container and die was lifted perpendicularly so that no
further bending was created.
Hardness tests were not to be performed close to the
edges as it could deform the specimen thus causing an
imbalance in the surface finish. It was made sure that
angle between top and bottom surfaces of the specimen
to be minimum (ideally zero) so that no imbalance is
created while testing.
For micro-structure tests, it was made sure that before
etching scratches on the specimen were minimised. After
etching the specimen was washed with soap solution and
was then dried keeping in mind that bubbles do not dry
on the surface to be subjected to microscope.
3. OBSERVATION
3.1. Extrusion
Graph 12 shows the loading rate used for the extrusion.
 8

FIG. 12. Loading rate for extrusion process

3.2. Compression Test

Compression test was performed on two specimens, one

of 12.5mm and the other of 14mm. Comparison is made
in subsequent sections between recorded values of ma-
chined and extruded products. For the analysis, graphs
of 14mm diameter specimen are shown in Fig.2. Values
of Young’s modulus are tabulated in Table VI.

TABLE VI. Young’s modulus for different specimens

Specimen Type Diameter(mm) Young’s modulus (GPa)

Machined 14 13.6 FIG. 13. Stress-strain curve for compression of 14mm diam-
12.5 13.72 eter for specimen which is machined (above) and extruded
specimen (below ).
Extruded 14 14.3
12.5 6.6
a Hardness Values in HV5 3.4. Rockwell Hardness Test

The corresponding graphs for 12.5mm diameter spec-
imens are shown in Fig.3.
3.3. Vicker’s Hardness Test
Vicker’s Hardness Test was performed in two ways for
each type of specimen - lateral hardness was measured on
the curved surface and radial variation of hardness was
measured on the cross-section area.
For 14mm diameter specimens, the tabular represen-
tation of hardness variation is shown in Table VII and
the graphical treatment is shown in Fig.4.
The corresponding values for 12.5mm diameter speci-
mens are shown in Table VIII and Fig.5.
Lateral hardness values are tabulated in Table IX.
Rockwell test was performed in a similar fashion to
Vicker’s test, i.e, radial variation in hardness was mea-
sured and recorded for each of the specimen. For 14mm
diameter specimens, the recorded values are tabulated
in Table X and the graphical variation for the same are
shown in Fig.6.
For 12.5mm diameter specimen, Table XI shows the
radial variation in hardness and Fig. 7 shows geometric
interpretation of recorded values.
3.5. Conductivity Test
The resistance values and corresponding conductivity
values (obtained using equation 3) from the experiment
are reported in Table XII.
 9

TABLE VII. Radial variation in Vicker’s hardness for 14mm

dia. specimens

Radial Distance(in mm) Sp. 1a Sp. 2a Averagea

6 132 127 129.5
5 93.1 115 104.05
4 97.45 98.85 98.15
3 117 93.45 105.225
2 121.5 108.5 115
1 124 122 123
0 122 124 123
a Hardness Values in HV5

TABLE VIII. Radial variation in Vicker’s hardness for

12.5mm dia. specimens

Radial Distance(in mm) Sp. 1a Sp. 2a Sp. 3a Averagea

5 136.67 133 123 130.89
4 110.967 122 117.5 116.82
3 92.9 113 118 107.9667
2 126 121 96.85 114.6167
1 137.67 126.5 130 131.3889
0 139 126 140 135
a Hardness Values in HV5

TABLE IX. Lateral hardness values

Specimen Type Specimen dia.(in mm) Hardness(HV5) FIG. 14. Stress-strain curve for compression of 12.5mm di-
ameter for specimen which is machined (above) and extruded
Extrusion 14 112.67
specimen (below ).
12.5 118.334
Machined 14 105
12.5 105 TABLE XII. Values obtained and calculated from conductiv-
ity test

Specimen type Radius(mm) Length(mm) R(Ω) σ(Ω−1 m−1 )a

TABLE X. Radial variation in Rockwell hardness for 14mm Machined 12.5 17.44 0.0785 1810.36
dia. specimens
14 19.02 0.0838 1474.41
Radial Distance(in mm) Sp. 1a Sp. 2a Averagea Extrusion 12.5 17.44 0.105 1353.46
0 40.5 35.5 38 14 19.02 0.09236 1337.76
2 33.27 35.07 34.17 a Calculated from Eq. 3
4 39.23 36.33 37.78
a Hardness Values in HRB
3.6. Microstructure

TABLE XI. Radial variation in Rockwell hardness for 12.5mm The microstructure observed using trinocular reflected
dia. specimens light microscope is shown on figure 3.6
Radial Distance(in mm) Sp. 1a Sp. 2a Sp. 3a Averagea
0 42.7 41.1 39.9 41.23 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
2 34.3 29.9 27.9 30.7
4 35.93 36.63 35.97 36.18 Load vs displacement graph obtained form extrusion pro-
a cess had an approximately constant value of load after
Hardness Values in HRB
certain amount of deformation. Initially the load was

FIG. 15. Graph showing variation of Vicker’s hardness in
radial direction for 14mm dia. specimen
FIG. 16. Graph showing variation of Vicker’s hardness in
radial direction for 12mm dia. specimen
varying too much with change in displacement due to
lateral expansion of specimen from ∅14.8mm to ∅15mm
inside the container and also due to the intermittent
changes in cross-sectional area. Load became constant
after a certain displacement when the lateral expansion
was completed. This load is given by formulations in
discussed in section 2.1.1. Numerical analysis of which
is shown below: K= 400 to 550 (for aluminium impure
aluminium [10],
n = 0.3 [10], ε1 = 0.2513 [11]
Aa = 1.767 × 10−4 m2 and Ab = 1.227 × 10−4 m2
By equation 1 and 2
Pc = 4.549 to 6.254 tonnes
Experimental Load applied = 6.005 tonnes as calculated
from figure 12.
10
FIG. 17. Graph showing variation of Rockwell hardness in
radial direction for 14mm dia. specimen
FIG. 18. Graph showing variation of Rockwell hardness in
radial direction for 12.5mm dia. specimen
Hardness of machined aluminium specimen is less than
the hardness of the extruded aluminium at every point
on the radial surface and the same stays true for the lat-
eral surface also. This is due to strain hardening because
of which there is an increase in the dislocation density as
a result of extrusion process. Hardness is not uniform on
the cross-section, and is maximum at the lateral surface
as specified in section 2.1.2. The surfaces went through
a facing operation to make sure that they were parallel
which was a pre-requisite for hardness testing. Since, the
extruded product already had a bent profile, the cross
section of the vertically faced product had an apparent
shift in the central axis of the profile. So, the plane cross-
section after turning was dissimilar with that of the origi-
nal bent profile. Hence minima observed was not at cen-
 11

FIG. 19. Observed microstructure

FIG. 20. Expected microstructure with elongated grains. Re-

produced from [12]
ter of cross-section (as was expected), but at a certain
distance from the center of the cross-section. Therefore,
for Rockwell and Vickers Test of extruded Aluminium for the following parameters is shown in figure ??.
specimen of diameters ∅ 12.5mm and ∅ 14mm, the ob-
served minima is at 2mm and 3mm radial displacement
respectively from the centre of cross-section.
Conductivity of aluminium specimens was found to
be decreased. The values for conductivity of aluminium
specimen of diameter of 12.5mm before and after extru-
sion are 1810.36 Ω−1 m−1 and 1353.46 Ω−1 m−1 respec-
tively. And conductivity values of aluminium specimen
of diameter 14mm before and after extrusion were found
to be 1474.41 Ω−1 m−1 and 0.09236 Ω−1 m−1 respectively.
Decrease in conductivity is due to increase in dislocation
density throughout the volume of specimen because of
work hardening during extrusion process. These dislo-
cations increase hindrance in movement of free electrons
which conducts electricity. This resulted in an increase
in the resistance of the aluminium specimen. Thus, dis-
locations act as scattering centers for movement of free
electrons.
The microstructure which was expected is shown in
figure 4, in which there is clear distinction between FIG. 21. Stress Vs Engineering strain graph 5.
grains and grain boundaries of Aluminium specimen.
The Microstructure that is obtained in our process (as σ̄ = 200 M P a using values of K, n and ε1 from section 4
shown in figure 3.6) after polishing comprised plenty of µ = 0.61 [13]
scratches such that grain boundaries are not distinctly d0 = 14 mm
seen. This is mainly because aluminium is generally soft h0 = 19.02 mm
in nature and and hence aids the formation of scratches.
Another reason behind this is the non-planarity of This curve closely Resembles the stress-strain curve
surface of extruded aluminium (due to bending) which of Aluminium after compression test in the plastic
leads to improper magnification of microstructure using deformation region. Thus this verifies siebel’s equation.
trinocular reflected light microscope. Also, the etchant Value of Young’s modulus was found to be almost
(Kellers reagent) used during the polishing of the the same for machined and extruded aluminium. For
material was not effective enough for microstructure specimen of ∅ 12.5mm, value of Young’s modulus for
of aluminium. Reason behind this is the protective machined specimen was found to be 13.72 GP a and
aluminium oxide layer over the specimen which ob- for the extruded specimen it was 6.6 GP a. And for
structs the chemical reaction of etchant on the surface specimen of ∅ 14mm it was 13.6 GP a for machined
of aluminium. specimen and 14.3 GP a for extruded specimen. This is
consistent with what was expected, as Young’s modulus
The curve for equation deduced from Siebel’s equation 5, is a material’s property and shouldn’t change even after

cold working.
Although our group envisages to run the tests on a
perfectly extruded product, there are a few defects that
need to be looked after and rectified.:
Uniform Deformation in the billet happens until the
billet reaches close to the die entrance. As soon as the
Billet reaches the die entrance, the center part of the
billet moves more easily through the die than of that
near the container wall of extrusion. Corners of the die
witness dead zone of Stagnant metal which is stationary
relative to the motion of the center part of the billet.
Due to this, Shear deformation at the surface is much
larger than at the center. Center of the billet undergoes
pure elongation in the extruded rod, which results in
a change in cross-sectional area. Shear deformation
consumes energy in the form of ’Redundant work’
which is not a part of the energy used for change in
dimensions during extrusion. Owing to this redundant
work, actual extrusion pressure varies largely from the
extrusion pressure based on ideal deformation. Part
of the surface metal separates from the bulk of the
material along the container wall if the shear resistance
of the metal along this region is lower than the frictional
stress. By changing the die angle, Non-homogeneous
flow through an extrusion die also changes accordingly.
Billet experiences lesser Shear deformation by decrease
in die angle of a conical die so that it approaches the
natural angle for flow through the flat die. This results
in nearly uniform flow throughout the lateral surface of
the billet. Although, uniform deformation of the billet
does not guarantee lower extrusion pressure.
Due to the faster movement of the center of the billet
than the periphery, Dead metal zone extends down along
the outer surface of the billet. After one-third of the
billet moves through the die, metal from the periphery is
entrained towards center and flows even faster. Internal
oxide stringers are formed due to the flow of oxidized
skin of the outer surface of Aluminium towards center.
This is called ‘Tail pipe defect or Extrusion defect which
increases with increase in friction. Proper Lubrication
avoids the above said Extrusion defect. Extrusion is
done until the surface oxide begins to enter the die
entrance region. This is also avoided by the introduction
of a Dummy block which is smaller in diameter than
the internal diameter of the extrusion container. As the
ram pushes the dummy block forward, billet is scalped
which results in sticking of oxidized surface layer in the
extrusion containern and hence gets separated.
When extrusion is carried out, at a point when ratio
[1] J. Beddoes and M. Bibby, Principles of metal manufac-
turing processes (Butterworth-Heinemann, 1999).
12
of remaining unextruded length to that of diameter is
one-fourth, axial hole results due to rapid radial inflow
of material. This can be seen as an approximate funnel
formed in the back-end of extrusion. This part of metal
at the back end has to be discarded. Length of this
defect can be considerably reduced by inclination of the
face of the ram at certain angle to ram axis.
As explained in section 2.1.1, bending of specimen
due to extrusion also leads to some errors. Hardness
values for both Vicker’s and Rockwell tests were not
obtained at center of cross-section (as was expected)
of specimen as for hardness test, specimens were faced
using lathe machine by which cross-section obtained
was not perpendicular to the axis of the bent profile.
Specimens were faced to obtain two parallel surfaces (top
and bottom) so that hardness test can be performed on it.
This can be prevented by making sure that bending
does’n take place while extrusion which is possible if fric-
tional forces are axi-symmetric.
The average Elastic Modulus of the aluminium was
recorded lesser than the actual Elastic Modulus which
is 70 Gpa. This was due to the lower value of L0 /D
ratio (1.35 for ∅14 mm and 1.39 ∅12.5 mm specimen).
This L0 /D ratio is not suitable for determining Elastic
modulus. According to ASTM, the ideal L0 /D ratio is
equal to 8 [14]. Other errors might have been arrived due
to imperfect alignment of specimen between the pressure
plates which might have led to non uniform distribution
of load on the specimen, due to non uniform cross-section
of the specimen. These error can be avoided by placing
the specimen at the centre of cross-head so that a uniform
compressive loading can be assured on the specimen.
5. CONCLUSION
Some of the observations made were in agreement with
the general trend while some varied considerably. Rea-
sons for these variations were mostly identified and listed.
To summarise the inferences, Young’s modulus is a ma-
terial’s property and hence does not change due to cold
working, hardness values do not remain constant across
the cross-sectional area of the extruded product, lateral
hardness increases after extrusion due to strain harden-
ing and electrical conductivity decreases post-extrusion.
Tests like these have immense applications in industries
specifically for quality control where one of the specimens
from the complete batch is tested whether it is manufac-
tured as per the requirements or not. Other applications
include process designing where the steps to manufacture
a product are decided based on results obtained from
such tests.
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