A new analytical definition of the dead material zone for forward extrusion of shaped sections

This article aims to provide a new formulation for the analysis of the extrusion process for non-axisymmetric sections. The upper bound theorem has been used to obtain a generalized kinematically admissible velocity field. The geometry of the deforming region has been formulated considering variation of the dead zone size at different angular positions and three-dimensional curved surfaces have been employed to define the entry and exit surfaces of the deformation zone. Using this analytical method, extrusion of square, rectangular and L-shaped sections were analyzed and the effect of shape complexity on material flow and dead material zone (DMZ) formation under different conditions has been investigated. Physical modelling experiments and finite element analysis were carried out to reveal the capability of the proposed theoretical method.