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Alloy development and reheating process exploration of Al–Si casting alloys with globular grains for thixoforming

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 May 2016

Jiao Jiao Wang ,
Zhong Min Zhang ,
A.B. Phillion ,
Shu Zhen Shang  and
Gui Min Lu
Jiao Jiao Wang*
Affiliation:
The Key Laboratory of Pressure Systems and Safety, Ministry of Education, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Zhong Min Zhang
Affiliation:
Research and Development Department, Shanghai Junsoft Digital Science & Technology Co., Ltd, Shanghai 200051, China
A.B. Phillion
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton L8S 4L7, Ontario, Canada
Shu Zhen Shang
Affiliation:
The Key Laboratory of Pressure Systems and Safety, Ministry of Education, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Gui Min Lu*
Affiliation:
The Key Laboratory of Pressure Systems and Safety, Ministry of Education, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
*
a) Address all correspondence to these authors. e-mail: jiaojiaowang.wendy@hotmail.com
b) e-mail: gmlu@ecust.edu.cn
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Abstract

A novel two-stage reheating process with new alloy design has been developed to improve the microstructure morphology of semisolid Al–Si casting aluminum alloy for thixoforming. The process consists of first reheating the material to the liquidus temperature, holding for 5 min, and then lowering to the predetermined two-stage reheating temperature between 843–863 K and holding for 10 min. The experimentally-obtained grain diameter, roundness, and the amount of liquid trapped within the solid phase were characterized, along with the microstructure obtained using the traditional feedstock reheating process. The Wilcox test (with α = 0.05) was then applied to statistically analyze the measured differences in the microstructures obtained using the two different processing routes. It was found that a refined near-spherical structure with uniform globule size, higher sphericity, lower coarsening rate constant, and less entrapped liquid was obtained via the new two-stage reheating process in comparison with the microstructure obtained using the traditional feedstock reheating process.

Keywords

castingmorphologymicrostructure
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 31 , Issue 16 , 29 August 2016 , pp. 2482 - 2492
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Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2016 

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