Effect of Combined Repetitive Corrugation and Straightening on the Wear Properties of Al 2024 Sheets

Abstract

Repetitive corrugation and straightening (RCS) is one promising technique among various severe plastic deformation (SPD) techniques, which can produce fine grained structures in metallic sheets or plates. The process was introduced to develop ultra fine grain metallic sheets and plates nearly a decade ago and is now gaining great interest in the material processing field. In this work, combined repetitive corrugation and straightening (RCS) and rolling were employed to enhance the wear properties of Al2024 sheets by refining the grains. Samples were corrugated using a pair of gears, followed by straightening, through varying number of passes, sheet thickness and temperature using design of experiments (L27 orthogonal array). After each corrugation and straightening, the specimens were subjected to cold rolling. Wear characterization for processed sheets was conducted as per design of experiments (L27 orthogonal array). The wear results showed that wear resistance is improved with increase in number of passes. Worn out surfaces were observed for wear tracks.

Keywords: Severe plastic deformation, repetitive corrugation and straightening, design of experiments, number of passes, wear resistance.