Solid State Phenomena Vols. 217-218

Abstract: Blistering is one of the main surface defects of thixocasting parts after solution treatment. In this paper, experimental study about the influence of plunger velocity on blistering problem was carried out, and the blistering level with various velocities was discussed. In addition, a series of simulation work for filling process were performed to analyse the formation mechanism of blister. The results indicate that the power law cut-off model can reflect the thixotropic characteristics better at shear rate range from 100s^-1 to 500s^-1 than Carreau model. Based on power law cut-off (PLCO) model, the filling process simulation reveals the air entrapments were caused by poor venting instead of turbulence, either decreasing the filling speed or modification of the die venting system would improve blistering problem.

Abstract: In this study, A356 aluminum thin plates (1.2 mm thick) are fabricated using the semi-solid forming process. Using the electromagnetic stirrer, A356-based semi-solid slurry is fabricated. The configuration of the thin die cavity for forging is designed using the fluid analysis of MAGMA software. The dimension of the thin plate is 150 x 150 x 1.2 mm. The semi-solid slurry with 45% solid fraction is created and then injected into the forging die at the 200-ton hydraulic press for compression. Thin plate with semi-solid slurry at 45% of the solid fraction (fs) is fabricated with punch speed of 300 mm/s and punch pressure of 200 MPa for compression the slurry. The formability, mechanical properties and microstructure of a formed thin plate sample are analyzed. As a result, a thin plate with 211.5 MPa of tensile strength and 8.5% of elongation can be formed.

Abstract: The objective of this presentation is to show and explain why semisolid slurries can fill thin sections at seemingly unlimited flow velocity; the suitability of SSM parts with very thin sections is a characteristic of the process that is often overlooked by the industry. This fact provides a unique opportunity for new advanced applications of the process, not possible by any of the existing metal-mold casting methods.

Abstract: The improvement of mathematical models for semisolid alloy flow properties requires profound understanding of the underlying physical nature. To date, it is commonly accepted that the shear thinning behaviour of these suspensions is caused by the solid phase microstructure, while the liquid phase is assumed to be Newtonian with a viscosity in the lower mPas-range. Recent measurements however, demonstrate non-Newtonian behaviour of fully liquid metals with pronounced shear thinning and high viscosities (multiple Pas) in the low shear-rate range. By gathering and analysing rheological measurement data of various alloys (Sn14.2%Pb, A356 and X210CrW12), the relevance of the new findings for semisolid metals is investigated. The results indicate that the previously unexamined non-Newtonian flow behaviour of the liquid matrix has, besides the solid fraction, the most dominant influence on the shear thinning behaviour of semisolid alloys. The influences of shear-rate and solid fraction are nearly independent of each other which allow the construction of master-curves; a general flow curve for the suspension where the solid fraction is considered by a scaling factor. Consequently, a modelling approach is suggested in which the dependency of solid fraction is considered independently of the shear-rate.

Abstract: In the present work, the solidification behaviour of a metal analogues transparent binary solution (8 wt% of NH₄Cl in H₂O) under shear flow is investigated numerically. The shear flow in the mush is developed due to flow over an inclined cooling plate. The dendrites formed during solidification are fragmented under the shear flow and transported into the bulk solution. The suspended dendrites form a slurry layer in the domain. Consequently, a suitable mathematical model is considered to study the transport phenomena. In the mathematical model, the free surface of the solution is represented by the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method. The solidification process is modelled by a set of volume-averaged-single-phase mass, momentum, energy and species conservation equations. A separate equation is considered for the solid velocity based on Stokes model. The governing equations are solved based on the pressure-based semi-implicit finite volume method according to the SIMPLER algorithm using TDMA solver along with the enthalpy update scheme. Finally, the simulation predicts temperature, velocity, solid fraction and the species distributions in the computational domain. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

Abstract: Different types of semi-solid processing are used to produce a variety of components. In this context, the use of FE simulations to obtain the filling of the dies and to optimize the semi-solid processing is clearly of a great interest. To carry it out properly in an isothermal case, the semi-solid flow into the die and friction phenomena have to be correctly described. In addition, comparisons between experiments and simulations are needed to assess the reliability of the modeling and to improve the understanding of the processing. In situ visualization of the semi-solid flow during processing is complex since the dies are closed and opaque. One of the main recent work with transparent glass sided dies to film die filling is that by Atkinson and Ward (2006). The purpose of this work is to compare numerical simulations to these experiments. Numerical simulations were performed with the solid mechanics-based software FORGE©. A micromechanical model accounting for the liquid and solid behaviour and their spatial distribution within the material (Favier et al, 2009) was used. The model parameters were identified using rapid compression tests on the A357 aluminium alloy (Favier and Atkinson, 2011). The slurry temperature corresponds to 0.5 solid fraction. Comparisons were focused on the flow behaviour. The impact of the presence of an obstacle and of the shape of the obstacle was investigated. The numerical simulations reproduced quite well the flow behaviour for the case with and without central obstacle. However, the change in flow due to an increase of the ram speed from 250 mm/s to 1000 mm/s is not captured.

Abstract: In the present work, a model is developed to study extrusion process of A356 alloy in semi-solid state. The distinct rheology of the semisolid alloy reduces energy necessity during extrusion process. Accordingly, a proper rheological model of the alloy is considered in the model towards a detailed study of the process. A combination of analytical and numerical solutions is considered for solving the governing equations. The work finally predicts distribution of velocity and shear stress of the alloy under shear in the considered domain. It also predicts the energy requirement during the extrusion process. It is demonstrated that for semisolid extrusion, reasonably less energy is required as compared to a conventional extrusion process Keywords: Extrusion, semi-solid alloy, apparent viscosity, extrusion power

Abstract: Semi-solid billet of 9Cr18 martensitic stainless steel with globular grains was made by a wavelike sloping plate experimental device, and hot compression tests were carried out in the semi-solid state of 9Cr18 semi-solid billet on Gleeble-1500 thermal simulation testing machine at the temperatures of 1250°C ~1300°C and the strain rates of 0.1 s^-1 ~5.0 s^-1 to investigate the effects of thixoforming parameters on its deformation characteristics and mechanism. According to the true stress-strain curves obtained from the test, the influence of deformation temperature and strain rate on 9Cr18 semi-solid billet deformation resistance was investigated, and the deformation resistance model of specimen with coexistence of solid and liquid phases was established. In this paper, it was found that deformation mechanism changed because of different deformation temperature and strain rate. Dynamic recrystallization occured at 1250°C in different phases separately. So that big fine recrystallized grains were achieved at the soft primary austenite region while small recrystallized grains were achieved at the hard solidified liquid region. The melted metal would be extruded from the centre of the specimen to the free surface completely when the temperature was higher than 1275°C. And then specimen became FGM (functionally graded materials), with phases and properties graded distribution perpendicular to the stress direction. When thixoforming temperature reached 1300 °C, martensitic transformation occurred after rapid cooling. The mathematics models of the relation between stress and temperatures, fraction of solid, deformation rates and deformation degree of 9Cr18 semi-solid billet were regressed and established based on the dates attained from the compression deformation experiments. The R value was 0.991, and the RMSE value was 3.57.

Abstract: Flexible thixo-extrusion, as an innovative near-net-shape forming method, has huge advantages in processing the components with complex geometry. However, it should keep in mind that conventional liquid casting still represents the dominant mean of aluminum alloys production. One of the obstacles the thixo-extrusion has to overcome is lack of proof that can live up to the claim that thixo-extruded components have better mechanical properties. The main aim of this paper is to simulate the flexible thixo-extrusion process of aluminum alloy A356 and investigate the control method of materials flow front. An isothermal compression test of aluminum alloy A356 is first conducted to obtain the true stress-strain curves at different temperatures and strain rates. A constitutive equation describing the relationship of stress, strain, strain rate and temperature is fitted by Origin and then imported to the DEFORM-3D simulation software. The results show that the quality of final component is enormously influenced by the radius of the arcs and the flexible thixo-extruded components has less defects compared with the conventional extruded ones.

Abstract: To prepare semi-solid AlSi9Mg alloy slurry, we simulated electromagnetic stirring (EMS) based on a coupled 3D model of electromagnetic field, temperature field, and flow field by sequentially coupling ANSOFT and FLUENT software. Results show that magnetic flux density and electromagnetic body force (EMF) decrease and exhibit non-uniform patterns as stirring frequency increases. However, magnetic flux density and EMF increase in proportion to the stirring current but become more inhomogeneous. As EMF increases, the flow velocity and the depth of vortex in the semi-solid slurry gradually increase; thus, slurry temperature decreases. The deviation in temperature is then reduced between the center and the edge. As a result, the microstructure of the slurry evolves from coarse rosette grains to fine and spheroidal ones. By comparison, turbulent flow is generated by excessive and more unevenly distributed EMF, which causes deterioration in microstructures, such as the formation of cavities in the semi-solid AlSi9Mg alloy slurry. Based on simulation and experimental results, our conclusion is that reasonable process parameters have been obtained and verified experimentally. These results also show the validity and reliability of EMS-prepared semi-solid AlSi9Mg alloy.