Semi-Solid Processing of Alloys and Composites (S2P)

The present edition of the International Conference on Semi-Solid Processing of Alloys and Composites (S2P) is the 17^th of a series of conferences on semisolid processing of metals and composites started in 1990 in France. The topics of interest are many: development of innovative materials and composites, microstructural and mechanical characterization, semi-solid material preparation and related technologies, modelling and simulation, industrial applications, interactions between semisolid processing and additive manufacturing. As known, semisolid processing is a foundry process in which the mold is filled with partially solid metal, instead of liquid metal. This allows to avoid a turbulent flow of the liquid metal, leading to lower porosities due to gas entrapment, while ensuring optimum filling of the die, even when thin walls are present. Also, shrinkage porosities are reduced since the alloy is partially solid during the mold filling. These features, typical only of semisolid processing, are gaining new interest, for instance, for the production of heat sinks with complex geometries and thin walls as the one used in electric vehicles. In addition, mechanical properties are improved, as well as the corrosion and wear resistance, due to the peculiar globular microstructure, resulting in the possibility to manufacture high-performance structural components. At the same time, the metal fills the die at a lower temperature than in conventional foundry process, resulting in a prolonged lifetime of the die. Last but not least, the surface finish of these castings is extremely good. The conference has been organized by the Italian Association of Metallurgy (AIM) and the University of Brescia (Italy).