An analytical solution for the spread extrusion of shaped sections

Spread extrusion could be used for manufacturing of wide profiles in the extrusion industry. In this paper a new method of design and analysis has been presented for such a problem. Special dies were designed for profiled sections such as square, rectangular, elliptical and cross shapes. These dies force the material to flow sideways and spread so as to extrude sections with wider dimensions than the initial billet or the maximum container diameter. The geometry of the deforming zone in the die was formulated and based upon that, a kinematically admissible velocity field was derived. Using this velocity, we estimated the field upper bound on extrusion power. Profile sections with different aspect ratios were investigated and the influence of other process parameters such as friction and reduction of area on the extrusion pressure were studied. Optimum die lengths for each die were calculated so as to minimize the extrusion pressure. Finite element analysis for the numerical simulation of the process was also carried out. The finite element results were also used as an aid to the design process of the extrusion dies. Dies were manufactured for different sections such as square, rectangle, and ellipse and cross shapes. Experiments were carried out to obtain data to verify the theory. Comparison of the results showed good agreement between the theoretical, numerical and experimental data. It was concluded the present method could be used to design dies for the spread extrusion of different shaped dies.