The microstructure of semi-solid slurry of AZ91D alloy, which was produced by twin-screw stirring mixer under the different parameters, was investigated.Rheoforming by cold chamber die casting process was performed th...The microstructure of semi-solid slurry of AZ91D alloy, which was produced by twin-screw stirring mixer under the different parameters, was investigated.Rheoforming by cold chamber die casting process was performed thereafter. The results indicate that with decreasing of the barrel temperature of the mixer and the pouring temperature of molten Mg alloy, the solid fraction of semi-solid slurry increases and the size of non-dendritic grains becomes smaller. While the shear rate increases, the solid fraction of semi-solid slurry decreases. The tensile strength and elongation of metal rheoformed by die casting are higher by about 37% and 44% respectively than those produced by conventional liquid die casting.展开更多
The gating system and the overflow system were designed according to the casting structure during high pressure die casting(HPDC) process. The simulation was carried out by ProCAST software to visualize the injection ...The gating system and the overflow system were designed according to the casting structure during high pressure die casting(HPDC) process. The simulation was carried out by ProCAST software to visualize the injection chamber pre-crystallization and the flow of molten metal. The main work is to research four die casting process parameters, i.e. injection temperature, low-pressure velocity, high-and low-pressure velocity’s switching position, and high-pressure velocity. Experimental results show that the higher injection temperature and lowpressure velocity can mitigate the pre-crystallization of the injection chamber. However, when the low-pressure velocity exceeds 0.2 m·s-1, the air entrapment in the chamber occurs. Besides, when the high-pressure velocity is greater than 2.5 m·s-1, the overflow channel at the final filling position is covered by the liquid metal too early. Finally, the injection temperature of 650 °C, the low-pressure velocity of 0.2 m·s-1, the high-and low-pressure velocity’s switching position of 320 mm and the high-pressure velocity of 2 m·s-1 are obtained as the optimal parameters by the software simulation, which has been verified by actual production.展开更多
A 3-D mathematical model considering turbulence phenomena has been established based on a computational fluid dynamics technique, so called 3-D SOLA-VOF (Solution Algorithm-Volume of Fluid), to simulate the fluid flow...A 3-D mathematical model considering turbulence phenomena has been established based on a computational fluid dynamics technique, so called 3-D SOLA-VOF (Solution Algorithm-Volume of Fluid), to simulate the fluid flow of mold filling process of die casting. In addition, the mathematical model for simulating the heat transfer in die casting process has also been established. The computation program has been developed by the authors with the finite difference method (FDM) recently. As verification, the mold filling process of a S-shaped die casting has been simulated and the simulation results coincide with that of the benchmark test. Finally, as a practical application, the gating design of a motorcycle component was modified by the mold filling simulation and the dies design of another motorcycle component was optimized by the heat transfer simulation. All the optimized designs were verified by the production practice.展开更多
The vacuum die-casting process,started 25 years ago in Japan,has been widely applied.This technology contributes very much to improvement of castings quality.The main factor causing the defects of die castings is the ...The vacuum die-casting process,started 25 years ago in Japan,has been widely applied.This technology contributes very much to improvement of castings quality.The main factor causing the defects of die castings is the trapped air in the mold cavity,while the key technology of vacuum die-casting process is to avoid the trapped air effectively by evacuating the cavity before casting.At the same time,due to the shot speed and the casting pressure reduced in half,the service life of the die is prolonged and the productivity is enhanced,as well.Vacuum die-casting process is of great signif icance in improving the die castings quality and making up the shortcomings of super-high-speed shot casting.展开更多
Near-liquidus cast ingot was reheated to semi-solid firstly, and then a bracket of motor was prepared by die casting the semi-solid ingot into mould. The microstructural characteristics of AZ91D alloy in these process...Near-liquidus cast ingot was reheated to semi-solid firstly, and then a bracket of motor was prepared by die casting the semi-solid ingot into mould. The microstructural characteristics of AZ91D alloy in these processes were investigated. In the process of near-liquidus casting, primary α-Mg grains tend to be rosette-like because of the increase of plentiful quasi-solid atom clusters in molten alloy with the decrease of pouring temperature. These rosette-like α-Mg grains in ingots fabricated by near-liquidus casting are fused off and refined into near-globular structure owing to the solute diffusion mechanism and the minimum surface energy mechanism during reheating. After semi-solid die-casting, α-Mg grains, located in biscuit, impact and connect with each other; α-Mg grains, located in inner gate, congregate together; while α-Mg grains, located in component, distribute uniformly and become into globularity or strip. Because the inner gate limits the flowing of semi-solid slurry, and the pressure acted on the semi-solid slurry decreases gradually along the filling direction of semi-solid slurry in cavity, microstructural segregation of unmelted α-Mg grains appears along this direction. Shrinkage holes in casting are caused by two different reasons. For biscuit, the shrinkage holes are caused by the blocked access of feeding liquid to the shrinkage zone for the agglomerated unmelted α-Mg grains. For component, the shrinkage holes are caused by the lack of feeding of liquid alloy.展开更多
During the cold-chamber high pressure die casting(HPDC) process, samples were produced to investigate the microstructure characteristics of AM60B magnesium alloy. Special attention was paid to the effects of process p...During the cold-chamber high pressure die casting(HPDC) process, samples were produced to investigate the microstructure characteristics of AM60B magnesium alloy. Special attention was paid to the effects of process parameters on the morphology and distribution of externally solidified crystals(ESCs) in the microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings, such as slow shot phase plunger velocity, delay time of pouring and fast shot phase plunger velocity. On the basis of metallographic observation and quantitative statistics, it is concluded that a lower slow shot phase plunger velocity and a longer delay time of pouring both lead to an increment of the size and percentage of the ESCs, due to the fact that a longer holding time of the melt in the shot sleeve will cause a more severe loss of the superheat. The impingement of the melt flow on the ESCs is more intensive with a higher fast shot phase plunger velocity, in such case the ESCs reveal a more granular and roundish morphology and are dispersed throughout the cross section of the castings. Based on analysis of the filling and solidification processes of the melt during the HPDC process, reasonable explanations were proposed in terms of the nucleation, growth, remelting and fragmentation of the ESCs to interpret the effects of process parameters on the morphology and distribution of the ESCs in the microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings.展开更多
We develop a neuro-knowledge-based expert system (NKBES) frame in this work. The system mainly concerns with decision of gating system and die casting machine based on a neuro-inference engine launched under the MATLA...We develop a neuro-knowledge-based expert system (NKBES) frame in this work. The system mainly concerns with decision of gating system and die casting machine based on a neuro-inference engine launched under the MATLAB software environment. For enhancement of reasoning agility, an error back-propagation neural network was applied. A rapidly convergent adaptive learning rate (ALR) and a momentum-based error back-propagation algorithm was used to conduct neuro-reasoning. The working effect of the system was compared to a conventional expert system that is based on a two-way (forward and backward) chaining inference mechanism. As the reference, the present paper provided the neural networks sum-squared error (S5E) and ALR vs iterative epoch curves of process planning case mentioned above. The study suggests that the neuro-modeling optimization application to die casting process design has good feasibility, and based on that a novel and effective intelligent expert system can be launched at low cost.展开更多
A method based on die casting experiments and mathematic modeling is presented for the determination of the heat flow density (HFD) and interfacial heat transfer coefficient (IHTC) during the high pressure die cas...A method based on die casting experiments and mathematic modeling is presented for the determination of the heat flow density (HFD) and interfacial heat transfer coefficient (IHTC) during the high pressure die casting (HPDC) process.Experiments were carried out using step shape casting and a commercial magnesium alloy,AM50.Temperature profiles were measured and recorded using thermocouples embedded inside the die. Based on these temperature readings,the HFD and IHTC were successfully determined and the calculation results show that the HFD and IHTC at the metal-die interface increases sharply right after the fast phase injection process until approaching their maximum values,after which their values decrease to a much lower level until the dies are opened.Different patterns of heat transfer behavior were found between the die and the casting at different thicknesses.The thinner the casting was,the more quickly the HFD and IHTC reached their steady states.Also,the values for both the HFD and IHTC values were different between die and casting at different thicknesses.展开更多
High pressure die casting (HPDC) is a versatile material processing method for mass-production of metal parts with complex geometries,and this method has been widely used in manufacturing various products of excellent...High pressure die casting (HPDC) is a versatile material processing method for mass-production of metal parts with complex geometries,and this method has been widely used in manufacturing various products of excellent dimensional accuracy and productivity. In order to ensure the quality of the components,a number of variables need to be properly set. A novel methodology for high pressure die casting process optimization was developed,validated and applied to selection of optimal parameters,which incorporate design of experiment (DOE),Gaussian process (GP) regression technique and genetic algorithms (GA). This new approach was applied to process optimization for cast magnesium alloy notebook shell. After being trained,using data generated by PROCAST (FEM-based simulation software),the GP model approximated well with the simulation by extracting useful information from the simulation results. With the help of MATLAB,the GP/GA based approach has achieved the optimum solution of die casting process condition settings.展开更多
EfFects of heat treatments on hardness and dry wear properties of a semi-solid processed Fe-26.96 wt pct Cr- 2.91 wt pct C cast iron were studied. Heat treatments included tempering at 500℃, destabilisation at 1075℃...EfFects of heat treatments on hardness and dry wear properties of a semi-solid processed Fe-26.96 wt pct Cr- 2.91 wt pct C cast iron were studied. Heat treatments included tempering at 500℃, destabilisation at 1075℃ and destabilisation at 1075℃ plus tempering at 500℃, all followed by air cooling. Electron microscopy revealed that, in the as-cast condition, the primary proeutectic austenite was round in shape while the eutectic M7C3 carbide was found as radiating clusters mixed with directional clusters. Tempering did not change the microstructure significantly when observed by scanning or transmission electron microscopy. Destabilisation followed by air cooling led to a precipitation of secondary M23C6 carbide and a transformation of the primary austenite to martensite. Precipitation behaviour is comparable to that observed in the conventionally cast iron. Tempering after destabilisation resulted in a higher amount of secondary carbide precipitation within the tempered martensite in the eutectic structure. Vickers macrohardness and microhardness in the proeutectic zones were measured. Dry wear properties were tested by using a pin-on-disc method. The maximum hardness and the lowest dry wear rate were obtained from the destabilisation-plus-tempering heat treatment due to the precipitation of secondary carbides within the martensite matrix and a possible reduction in the retained austenite.展开更多
Squeeze casting has become the most competitive casting process in the automotive industry because of its many advantages over high pressure die casting (HPDC). Many squeeze casting R & D and small amount volume m...Squeeze casting has become the most competitive casting process in the automotive industry because of its many advantages over high pressure die casting (HPDC). Many squeeze casting R & D and small amount volume making have been implemented around the world, but the mass production control still exists problem. SPX Contech squeeze casting process P2000 successfully achieved the goal of mass production; it includes lower metal turbulence, less gas entrapment, minimum volumetric shrinkage, and thus less porosity. Like other casting processes, however, the quality of squeeze castings is still sensitive to process control and gate and runner design. Casting defects can form in both die-filling and metal solidification phases. The occurrence of casting defects is directly attributed to improper adjustment or lack of control of process parameters including metal filling velocity, temperature, dwell time, cooling pattern, casting design, and etc. This paper presents examples using P2000 techniques to improve part quality in the following areas: runner & gate design, casting & runner layout in the die, squeeze pin application, high thermal conductivity inserts, cooling/heating systems, spray & lubricant techniques, and part stress calculation from shrinkage or displacement prediction after stress relief.展开更多
The gas induced semi-solid(GISS) is a rheocasting process that produces semi-solid slurry by applying fine gas bubble injection through a graphite diffuser.The process is developed to be used in the die casting indust...The gas induced semi-solid(GISS) is a rheocasting process that produces semi-solid slurry by applying fine gas bubble injection through a graphite diffuser.The process is developed to be used in the die casting industry.To apply the GISS process with a die casting process,a GISS maker unit is designed and attached to a conventional die casting machine with little modifications.The commercial parts are developed and produced by the GISS die casting process.The GISS die casting shows the feasibility to produce industrial parts with aluminum 7075 and A356 with lower porosity than liquid die casting.展开更多
Several rheocasting processes are developed or applied worldwide in the metal forming industry.One of the new rheocasting processes is the gas induced semi-solid(GISS) process.The GISS process utilizes the principle o...Several rheocasting processes are developed or applied worldwide in the metal forming industry.One of the new rheocasting processes is the gas induced semi-solid(GISS) process.The GISS process utilizes the principle of rapid heat extraction and vigorous local extraction using the injection of fine gas bubbles through a graphite diffuser.Several forming processes such as die casting,squeeze casting,gravity casting,and rheo-extrusion of the semi-solid slurries prepared by the GISS process have also been conducted.The GISS process is capable of processing various alloys including cast aluminum alloys,die casting aluminum alloys,wrought aluminum alloys,and zinc alloys.The GISS process is currently developed to be used commercially in the industry with the focus on forming semi-solid slurries containing low fractions solid(< 0.25) into parts.The research and development activities of the GISS process were discussed and the status of the industrial developments of this process was reported.展开更多
Fine, equiaxed, non dendritic structure needed by semi solid processing was obtained by liquidus cast, i.e. 7075 wrought aluminum alloy cast from liquidus temperature. The microstructures after heat treatment at diffe...Fine, equiaxed, non dendritic structure needed by semi solid processing was obtained by liquidus cast, i.e. 7075 wrought aluminum alloy cast from liquidus temperature. The microstructures after heat treatment at different temperatures and time in the semi solid range were observed, and the compression deformation behavior at different temperatures (490~600 ℃) and strain rates (5×10 -3 ~5s -1 ) was investigated by means of Gleeble 1500 thermal mechanical simulator. The results show that the deformation resistance of the non dendritic structure attained by liquidus cast in semi solid is remarkably lower than that of conventional dendritic structure. The formability of non dendritic structure is better than that of dendritic structure.展开更多
It has been more than ten years since the semi-solid processing (SSP) technique was put into commercial applications in the world. A lot of work on semi-solid metals (SSM) including their preparation, reheating and se...It has been more than ten years since the semi-solid processing (SSP) technique was put into commercial applications in the world. A lot of work on semi-solid metals (SSM) including their preparation, reheating and semi-solid forming has been done in China. In order to produce the high quality die-casting, a novel innovation that modifies the present machines based on the SSP technique was proposed. Semi-solid die-casting on modified casting machines can manufacture parts with more excellent quality than those produced by squeeze casting. It was found that the defects such as 'elephant foot' and 'periphery liquid metal loss' during reheating could be avoided through controlling the non-dendritic structure of billets and optimizing the reheating process. The processing parameters and mold designs of semi-solid die-casting are fairly different from those of liquid die-casting.展开更多
In the present study,numerical simulation method was used to analyze the conditions,resulting in the formation of blisters during solution heat treatment.Blister formation is considered to occur as the height of blist...In the present study,numerical simulation method was used to analyze the conditions,resulting in the formation of blisters during solution heat treatment.Blister formation is considered to occur as the height of blister reaches 5μm.The effects of process parameters on the magnitude of the forming temperatures of blister(Tb)were discussed.Two kinds of Al-Si alloys were used to analyze the effect of mechanical properties of the alloys on blister forming conditions.Simulation results show that decreasing the initial pressure in gas hole,the long-short axial ratio of gas hole and the size of gas hole,as well as increasing the depth of gas hole and the strength of alloy are helpful to increase the critical temperature of forming blister.These conclusions are helpful for casters to understand the conditions controlling blister formation during solution heat treatment and take actions to avoid the blister defects.展开更多
Light weights wheels improve vehicle performance with respect to road handling, cornering as well providing fuel economy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Aluminum wheels are currently used in many models and are ...Light weights wheels improve vehicle performance with respect to road handling, cornering as well providing fuel economy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Aluminum wheels are currently used in many models and are produced usually by low pressure assisted gravity casting. Important property requirements are fatigue strength, pressure tightness, tensile strength, impact resistance, and corrosion resistance. Many attempts have been made to convert aluminum road wheels to magnesium. Race cars and some of the high end models (Porsche, Ferrari, etc.) have used magnesium wheels. These wheels have been gravity cast or forged. Viable corrosion protection systems have been developed and magnesium wheels have been used with success on these models. To use magnesium on more modest models is a challenge due to cost issues. Higher productivity casting processes or more cost effective coating systems need to be utilized. The project consists of selecting magnesium alloys for road wheels, examining the possible cost effective casting processes and corrosion protection systems, evaluating the cost per one wheel and comparing it to aluminum wheel costs. The wheels will also be compared with respect to fatigue and impact properties, pressure tightness, and corrosion.展开更多
文摘The microstructure of semi-solid slurry of AZ91D alloy, which was produced by twin-screw stirring mixer under the different parameters, was investigated.Rheoforming by cold chamber die casting process was performed thereafter. The results indicate that with decreasing of the barrel temperature of the mixer and the pouring temperature of molten Mg alloy, the solid fraction of semi-solid slurry increases and the size of non-dendritic grains becomes smaller. While the shear rate increases, the solid fraction of semi-solid slurry decreases. The tensile strength and elongation of metal rheoformed by die casting are higher by about 37% and 44% respectively than those produced by conventional liquid die casting.
基金financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2016YFB0301003)
文摘The gating system and the overflow system were designed according to the casting structure during high pressure die casting(HPDC) process. The simulation was carried out by ProCAST software to visualize the injection chamber pre-crystallization and the flow of molten metal. The main work is to research four die casting process parameters, i.e. injection temperature, low-pressure velocity, high-and low-pressure velocity’s switching position, and high-pressure velocity. Experimental results show that the higher injection temperature and lowpressure velocity can mitigate the pre-crystallization of the injection chamber. However, when the low-pressure velocity exceeds 0.2 m·s-1, the air entrapment in the chamber occurs. Besides, when the high-pressure velocity is greater than 2.5 m·s-1, the overflow channel at the final filling position is covered by the liquid metal too early. Finally, the injection temperature of 650 °C, the low-pressure velocity of 0.2 m·s-1, the high-and low-pressure velocity’s switching position of 320 mm and the high-pressure velocity of 2 m·s-1 are obtained as the optimal parameters by the software simulation, which has been verified by actual production.
文摘A 3-D mathematical model considering turbulence phenomena has been established based on a computational fluid dynamics technique, so called 3-D SOLA-VOF (Solution Algorithm-Volume of Fluid), to simulate the fluid flow of mold filling process of die casting. In addition, the mathematical model for simulating the heat transfer in die casting process has also been established. The computation program has been developed by the authors with the finite difference method (FDM) recently. As verification, the mold filling process of a S-shaped die casting has been simulated and the simulation results coincide with that of the benchmark test. Finally, as a practical application, the gating design of a motorcycle component was modified by the mold filling simulation and the dies design of another motorcycle component was optimized by the heat transfer simulation. All the optimized designs were verified by the production practice.
文摘The vacuum die-casting process,started 25 years ago in Japan,has been widely applied.This technology contributes very much to improvement of castings quality.The main factor causing the defects of die castings is the trapped air in the mold cavity,while the key technology of vacuum die-casting process is to avoid the trapped air effectively by evacuating the cavity before casting.At the same time,due to the shot speed and the casting pressure reduced in half,the service life of the die is prolonged and the productivity is enhanced,as well.Vacuum die-casting process is of great signif icance in improving the die castings quality and making up the shortcomings of super-high-speed shot casting.
基金Project(2008BB4177) supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing City, China
文摘Near-liquidus cast ingot was reheated to semi-solid firstly, and then a bracket of motor was prepared by die casting the semi-solid ingot into mould. The microstructural characteristics of AZ91D alloy in these processes were investigated. In the process of near-liquidus casting, primary α-Mg grains tend to be rosette-like because of the increase of plentiful quasi-solid atom clusters in molten alloy with the decrease of pouring temperature. These rosette-like α-Mg grains in ingots fabricated by near-liquidus casting are fused off and refined into near-globular structure owing to the solute diffusion mechanism and the minimum surface energy mechanism during reheating. After semi-solid die-casting, α-Mg grains, located in biscuit, impact and connect with each other; α-Mg grains, located in inner gate, congregate together; while α-Mg grains, located in component, distribute uniformly and become into globularity or strip. Because the inner gate limits the flowing of semi-solid slurry, and the pressure acted on the semi-solid slurry decreases gradually along the filling direction of semi-solid slurry in cavity, microstructural segregation of unmelted α-Mg grains appears along this direction. Shrinkage holes in casting are caused by two different reasons. For biscuit, the shrinkage holes are caused by the blocked access of feeding liquid to the shrinkage zone for the agglomerated unmelted α-Mg grains. For component, the shrinkage holes are caused by the lack of feeding of liquid alloy.
基金financially supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(WUT:2017IVA036)111 Project(B17034)State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die&Mould Technology,Huazhong University of Science and Technology(P2018-003)
文摘During the cold-chamber high pressure die casting(HPDC) process, samples were produced to investigate the microstructure characteristics of AM60B magnesium alloy. Special attention was paid to the effects of process parameters on the morphology and distribution of externally solidified crystals(ESCs) in the microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings, such as slow shot phase plunger velocity, delay time of pouring and fast shot phase plunger velocity. On the basis of metallographic observation and quantitative statistics, it is concluded that a lower slow shot phase plunger velocity and a longer delay time of pouring both lead to an increment of the size and percentage of the ESCs, due to the fact that a longer holding time of the melt in the shot sleeve will cause a more severe loss of the superheat. The impingement of the melt flow on the ESCs is more intensive with a higher fast shot phase plunger velocity, in such case the ESCs reveal a more granular and roundish morphology and are dispersed throughout the cross section of the castings. Based on analysis of the filling and solidification processes of the melt during the HPDC process, reasonable explanations were proposed in terms of the nucleation, growth, remelting and fragmentation of the ESCs to interpret the effects of process parameters on the morphology and distribution of the ESCs in the microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings.
文摘We develop a neuro-knowledge-based expert system (NKBES) frame in this work. The system mainly concerns with decision of gating system and die casting machine based on a neuro-inference engine launched under the MATLAB software environment. For enhancement of reasoning agility, an error back-propagation neural network was applied. A rapidly convergent adaptive learning rate (ALR) and a momentum-based error back-propagation algorithm was used to conduct neuro-reasoning. The working effect of the system was compared to a conventional expert system that is based on a two-way (forward and backward) chaining inference mechanism. As the reference, the present paper provided the neural networks sum-squared error (S5E) and ALR vs iterative epoch curves of process planning case mentioned above. The study suggests that the neuro-modeling optimization application to die casting process design has good feasibility, and based on that a novel and effective intelligent expert system can be launched at low cost.
基金This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50675114) the National Basic Research Program of China (2006CB605208-2) The experiments were conducted at the Tsinghua-TOYO R&D Center of Magnesium and Aluminum Alloys Processing Technology with the help of engineers from the TOYO Machiuery & Metal Co., Ltd.
文摘A method based on die casting experiments and mathematic modeling is presented for the determination of the heat flow density (HFD) and interfacial heat transfer coefficient (IHTC) during the high pressure die casting (HPDC) process.Experiments were carried out using step shape casting and a commercial magnesium alloy,AM50.Temperature profiles were measured and recorded using thermocouples embedded inside the die. Based on these temperature readings,the HFD and IHTC were successfully determined and the calculation results show that the HFD and IHTC at the metal-die interface increases sharply right after the fast phase injection process until approaching their maximum values,after which their values decrease to a much lower level until the dies are opened.Different patterns of heat transfer behavior were found between the die and the casting at different thicknesses.The thinner the casting was,the more quickly the HFD and IHTC reached their steady states.Also,the values for both the HFD and IHTC values were different between die and casting at different thicknesses.
文摘High pressure die casting (HPDC) is a versatile material processing method for mass-production of metal parts with complex geometries,and this method has been widely used in manufacturing various products of excellent dimensional accuracy and productivity. In order to ensure the quality of the components,a number of variables need to be properly set. A novel methodology for high pressure die casting process optimization was developed,validated and applied to selection of optimal parameters,which incorporate design of experiment (DOE),Gaussian process (GP) regression technique and genetic algorithms (GA). This new approach was applied to process optimization for cast magnesium alloy notebook shell. After being trained,using data generated by PROCAST (FEM-based simulation software),the GP model approximated well with the simulation by extracting useful information from the simulation results. With the help of MATLAB,the GP/GA based approach has achieved the optimum solution of die casting process condition settings.
文摘EfFects of heat treatments on hardness and dry wear properties of a semi-solid processed Fe-26.96 wt pct Cr- 2.91 wt pct C cast iron were studied. Heat treatments included tempering at 500℃, destabilisation at 1075℃ and destabilisation at 1075℃ plus tempering at 500℃, all followed by air cooling. Electron microscopy revealed that, in the as-cast condition, the primary proeutectic austenite was round in shape while the eutectic M7C3 carbide was found as radiating clusters mixed with directional clusters. Tempering did not change the microstructure significantly when observed by scanning or transmission electron microscopy. Destabilisation followed by air cooling led to a precipitation of secondary M23C6 carbide and a transformation of the primary austenite to martensite. Precipitation behaviour is comparable to that observed in the conventionally cast iron. Tempering after destabilisation resulted in a higher amount of secondary carbide precipitation within the tempered martensite in the eutectic structure. Vickers macrohardness and microhardness in the proeutectic zones were measured. Dry wear properties were tested by using a pin-on-disc method. The maximum hardness and the lowest dry wear rate were obtained from the destabilisation-plus-tempering heat treatment due to the precipitation of secondary carbides within the martensite matrix and a possible reduction in the retained austenite.
文摘Squeeze casting has become the most competitive casting process in the automotive industry because of its many advantages over high pressure die casting (HPDC). Many squeeze casting R & D and small amount volume making have been implemented around the world, but the mass production control still exists problem. SPX Contech squeeze casting process P2000 successfully achieved the goal of mass production; it includes lower metal turbulence, less gas entrapment, minimum volumetric shrinkage, and thus less porosity. Like other casting processes, however, the quality of squeeze castings is still sensitive to process control and gate and runner design. Casting defects can form in both die-filling and metal solidification phases. The occurrence of casting defects is directly attributed to improper adjustment or lack of control of process parameters including metal filling velocity, temperature, dwell time, cooling pattern, casting design, and etc. This paper presents examples using P2000 techniques to improve part quality in the following areas: runner & gate design, casting & runner layout in the die, squeeze pin application, high thermal conductivity inserts, cooling/heating systems, spray & lubricant techniques, and part stress calculation from shrinkage or displacement prediction after stress relief.
基金supports from Prince of Songkla University (No.AGR530031M)the Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D program (No.PHD/0173/2550)
文摘The gas induced semi-solid(GISS) is a rheocasting process that produces semi-solid slurry by applying fine gas bubble injection through a graphite diffuser.The process is developed to be used in the die casting industry.To apply the GISS process with a die casting process,a GISS maker unit is designed and attached to a conventional die casting machine with little modifications.The commercial parts are developed and produced by the GISS die casting process.The GISS die casting shows the feasibility to produce industrial parts with aluminum 7075 and A356 with lower porosity than liquid die casting.
基金supports from several sources including the Thai Research Fund (No. MRG5280215)Prince of Songkla University (No. AGR530031M)the Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D. Program (No. PHD/0134/2551 and PHD/0173/2550)
文摘Several rheocasting processes are developed or applied worldwide in the metal forming industry.One of the new rheocasting processes is the gas induced semi-solid(GISS) process.The GISS process utilizes the principle of rapid heat extraction and vigorous local extraction using the injection of fine gas bubbles through a graphite diffuser.Several forming processes such as die casting,squeeze casting,gravity casting,and rheo-extrusion of the semi-solid slurries prepared by the GISS process have also been conducted.The GISS process is capable of processing various alloys including cast aluminum alloys,die casting aluminum alloys,wrought aluminum alloys,and zinc alloys.The GISS process is currently developed to be used commercially in the industry with the focus on forming semi-solid slurries containing low fractions solid(< 0.25) into parts.The research and development activities of the GISS process were discussed and the status of the industrial developments of this process was reported.
文摘Fine, equiaxed, non dendritic structure needed by semi solid processing was obtained by liquidus cast, i.e. 7075 wrought aluminum alloy cast from liquidus temperature. The microstructures after heat treatment at different temperatures and time in the semi solid range were observed, and the compression deformation behavior at different temperatures (490~600 ℃) and strain rates (5×10 -3 ~5s -1 ) was investigated by means of Gleeble 1500 thermal mechanical simulator. The results show that the deformation resistance of the non dendritic structure attained by liquidus cast in semi solid is remarkably lower than that of conventional dendritic structure. The formability of non dendritic structure is better than that of dendritic structure.
基金This Work financially supported by the China National Advanced Materials Committee
文摘It has been more than ten years since the semi-solid processing (SSP) technique was put into commercial applications in the world. A lot of work on semi-solid metals (SSM) including their preparation, reheating and semi-solid forming has been done in China. In order to produce the high quality die-casting, a novel innovation that modifies the present machines based on the SSP technique was proposed. Semi-solid die-casting on modified casting machines can manufacture parts with more excellent quality than those produced by squeeze casting. It was found that the defects such as 'elephant foot' and 'periphery liquid metal loss' during reheating could be avoided through controlling the non-dendritic structure of billets and optimizing the reheating process. The processing parameters and mold designs of semi-solid die-casting are fairly different from those of liquid die-casting.
基金financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No.2016YFB0301003)Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission under Projects (Nos.JCYJ20170307110223452,KQJSCX20170328155402991 and KQTD20170328154443162)。
文摘In the present study,numerical simulation method was used to analyze the conditions,resulting in the formation of blisters during solution heat treatment.Blister formation is considered to occur as the height of blister reaches 5μm.The effects of process parameters on the magnitude of the forming temperatures of blister(Tb)were discussed.Two kinds of Al-Si alloys were used to analyze the effect of mechanical properties of the alloys on blister forming conditions.Simulation results show that decreasing the initial pressure in gas hole,the long-short axial ratio of gas hole and the size of gas hole,as well as increasing the depth of gas hole and the strength of alloy are helpful to increase the critical temperature of forming blister.These conclusions are helpful for casters to understand the conditions controlling blister formation during solution heat treatment and take actions to avoid the blister defects.
文摘Light weights wheels improve vehicle performance with respect to road handling, cornering as well providing fuel economy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Aluminum wheels are currently used in many models and are produced usually by low pressure assisted gravity casting. Important property requirements are fatigue strength, pressure tightness, tensile strength, impact resistance, and corrosion resistance. Many attempts have been made to convert aluminum road wheels to magnesium. Race cars and some of the high end models (Porsche, Ferrari, etc.) have used magnesium wheels. These wheels have been gravity cast or forged. Viable corrosion protection systems have been developed and magnesium wheels have been used with success on these models. To use magnesium on more modest models is a challenge due to cost issues. Higher productivity casting processes or more cost effective coating systems need to be utilized. The project consists of selecting magnesium alloys for road wheels, examining the possible cost effective casting processes and corrosion protection systems, evaluating the cost per one wheel and comparing it to aluminum wheel costs. The wheels will also be compared with respect to fatigue and impact properties, pressure tightness, and corrosion.