Method of preparing ultra-fine grain metallic articles and metallic articles prepared thereby
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsSteven G. Keener, Max R. Runyan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus and method are provided for angularly extruding a workpiece through a die to form blanks and articles having refined grain structure. The die is also used to form the workpiece to a desired shape, such as a cylinder. The angular extrusion method can be used in place of some heat treatments, thereby lowering the cost and time for manufacturing articles. The method is compatible with materials with high strength-to-weight ratios such as aluminum, titanium, and alloys thereof. The blanks can be used to form articles having favorable mechanical properties such as strength, toughness, formability, and resistance to fatigue, corrosion, and thermal stresses.
Claims26
A method of manufacturing an article having a refined grain structure, the method comprising:
- extruding a workpiece through an extrusion passage having first and second passage portions, the extrusion passage defining an extrusion angle between the longitudinal axes of the first and second portions such that a grain size of at least a portion of the workpiece is refined, and the extrusion passage having first and second cross-sectional shapes such that the workpiece is extruded from a shape corresponding to the first cross-sectional shape of the passage to form a blank corresponding to the second cross-sectional shape of the passage;
- and
- forming at least a portion of the blank into the article.
A method of manufacturing a rivet comprising:
- providing a workpiece;
- extruding the workpiece through first and second portions of a passage of a die defining an extrusion angle between the longitudinal axes of the first and second portions to form a blank defining at least one region having a refined grain structure;
- and
- forming a rivet from the at least one region of the blank having the refined grain structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.