Continuous fabrication of sound semi-solid slurry for rheoforming

An alternative method has been proposed for the continuous and sample production of SSM slurry for the rheo-forming process. The process named "Low Superheat Pouring with a Shear Field (LSPSF)" dose not use the conventional stirring process, instead, it uses solidification conditions to control nucleation, nuclei survival and grain growth by means of low superheat pouring, vigorous mixing and rapid cooling during the initial stage of solidification combined with thereafter a much slower cooling. The method has been applied to A356, 201 and A380 Al-alloys. The primary phases present in average equivalent diameter of 40-70 mu m, 35-50 mu m and 50-70 mu m for A356, 201 and A380, respectively. The morphology of primary phases is nearly spherical with shape factor of 0.78-0.86, 0.71-0.83 and 0.85-0.96 for A356, 201 and A380, respectively. For each of those alloys, there is no eutectic entrapped within the primary phase. The advantages of the LSPSF include process simplicity with high efficiency, easy incorporation into existing metal forming installation without infrastructure changes and a wide process window for pouring temperature.