The equal channel angular pressing(ECAP) experiments were carried out with industrial pure aluminum and an in-house mould. The comparison of material grain size before and after ECAP was performed by applying the technique of electron back scattered diffraction(EBSD). The results show that the grains in the material after ECAP are refined and the yield stress and ultimate strength are increased. In order to investigate the deformation mechanism during ECAP and the reason for driving grain size refinement, three-dimensional numerical simulations of the ECAP process were carried out. Based on the Lode parameter analysis, the deformation of the material sample is found very complicated, not just pure shear during extrusion through the angular channel. The simulation confirms that a strong strain gradient in the sample material is imposed by the ECAP.