“…Several reports have used FEM to analyze the distribution of strain within the billet and the influence of various die configurations and processing parameters, for example, the following: the external arc of curvature at the intersection of the channels, [10][11][12][13][14][15] the internal die angle, [12,13,[16][17][18] the role of frictional effects, [16,17,19] and the presence of a back pressure. [20][21][22] In addition, FEM was also used to analyze the distribution of strain in multiple passes of ECAP, either when an individual billet is pressed repetitively through the die [21,23] or when the billet is pressed through a die having more than one intersection of channels. [24,25] It is well established that pressing through dies with an external curvature at the intersection of the channels leads to a general inhomogeneity in the distribution of strain within the cross section of the billet.…”