Mechanical properties and microstructural evolution of rheocast A356 semi-solid slurry prepared by annular electromagnetic stirring

Nowadays,having an effective technique in preparing semi-solid slurries for rheocasting process seems to be an essential requirement.In this study,semi-solid slurry of A356 aluminum alloy was prepared by three-phase annular electromagnetic stirring(A-EMS)technique under different conditions.The effects of stirring current,pouring temperature and stirring time on microstructural evolution,mean particle size,shape factor and solid fraction were investigated.The rheocasting process was carried out by using a drop weight setup and to inject the prepared semi-solid slurry in optimal conditions into the step-die cavity.The filling behavior and mechanical properties of parts were studied.Microstructural evolution showed that the best semi-solid slurry which had fine spherical particles with the average size of~27μm and a shape factor of~0.8 was achieved at the stirring current of 70 A,melt pouring temperature of 670℃,and stirring time of 30 s.Under these conditions,the step-die cavity was completely filled at die preheating temperature of 470℃.The hardness increases by decreasing step thickness as well as die preheating temperature.Moreover,the tensile properties are improved at lower die preheating temperatures.The fracture surface,which consists of a complex topography,indicates a typical ductile fracture.

Preparation of semi-solid AlSi7Mg alloy slurry with big capability

Semi-solid AlSi7Mg alloy slurry was prepared by low superheat pouring and weak traveling-wave electromagnetic stirring.The effects of pouring temperature and stirring power on the microstructure of AlSi7Mg alloy slurry were studied.The results show that the semi-solid AlSi7Mg alloy slurry of 5 kg can be prepared.This new technology can save energy and make the pouring process convenient.When the pouring temperature is decreased at a stirring power of 0.41 kW,the shape of primary α-Al grains gradually changes from dendritic-like to spherical.When the alloy melt is poured at the temperature（630°C） with a certain superheat,the pouring process becomes easier,and the spherical microstructure of AlSi7Mg alloy slurry can be prepared by the weak traveling-wave electromagnetic stirring.When the pouring temperature is 630°C,increasing the stirring power appropriately can result in better spherical primary α-Al grains,but if the stirring power is increased to a certain value（1.72 kW）,the shape of primary α-Al grains does not obviously improve when the stirring power is continually increased.

Preparation of semi-solid aluminum alloy slurry poured through a water-cooled serpentine channel

A water-cooled serpentine channel pouring process was invented to produce semi-solid A356 aluminum alloy slurry for rheocast ing, and the effects of pouring temperature and circulating cooling water flux on the microstmcture of the slurry were investigated. The results show that at the pouring temperature of 640-680~C and the circulating cooling water flux of 0.9 m3/h, the semi-solid A356 aluminum alloy slurry with spherical primary a（A1） grains can be obtained, whose shape factors are between 0.78 and 0.86 and the grain diameter can reach 48-68 ~am. When the pouring temperatures are at 660-680~C, only a very thin solidified shell remains inside the serpentine channel and can be removed easily. When the serpentine channel is cooled with circulating water, the microstructure of the semi-solid slurry can be improved, and the serpentine channel is quickly cooled to room temperature after the completion of one pouring. In terms of the productivity of the special equipment, the water-cooled serpentine channel is economical and efficient.

Investigation of rheo-diecasting mold filling of semi-solid A380 aluminum alloy slurry

The rheo-diecasting mold filling capacity and the microstructure of the semi-solid A380 aluminum alloy slurry were investigated. The results show that the mold filling capacity was strengthened with increasing pouring temperature or increasing injection pressure. Under certain process parameters, the mold cavity was fully filled. However, the mold filling capacity decreased with increasing holding time. The mold filling capacity was improved with increasing shape factor of primary α(Al) grains; however, the solid fraction and the grain size significantly increased at the same time. In addition, the microstructures along the route of the spiral samples obviously differed. The grain size decreased gradually from the near-end to the far-end, whereas the shape factor increased gradually.

Degassing effect of ultrasonic vibration in molten melt and semi-solid slurry of Al-Si alloys

In the process of semi-solid slurry preparation with direct ultrasonic vibration (UV) by dipping the horn into the melt, one of the questions is whether the gas content in the melt would be increased or not by the cavitation effect of ultrasonic vibration. By application of quantitative gas content measurement technique, this paper investigated the effect of the ultrasonic vibration on the gas content of both the melt and the semi-solid slurry of Al-Si alloys, and the variations of the gas contents in two kinds of aluminum alloys, i.e., A356 alloy and Al-20Si-2Cu-1Ni-0.6RE alloy (Al-20Si for short). The results show that ultrasonic vibration has an obvious degassing effect on the molten melt, especially on the semi-solid slurry of Al-Si alloy which is below the liquidus temperature by less than 20 ℃. The ultrasonic degassing efficiency of the A356 alloy decreases with the reduction of the initial gas content in the melt, and it is nearly unchanged for the Al-20Si alloy. The gas content of both alloys decreases when the ultrasonic vibration time is increased. The best vibration time for Al-20Si alloy at the liquid temperature of 710 ℃ and semi-solid temperature of 680 ℃ is 60 s and 90 s, respectively; and the degassing efficiency is 48% and 35%, respectively. The mechanism of ultrasonic degassing effect is discussed.

Effects of solution treatment and aging process on microstructure refining of semi-solid slurry of wrought aluminum alloy 7A09

A new method was exploited using solution treatment and aging process as a pretreatment in preparing semi-solid slurry with fine microstructure before isothermal treatment of wrought aluminum alloy 7A09.Parameters of pretreatment were optimized by orthogonal experiment design and proper precursor was prepared.The evolution of microstructure of semi-solid slurry during isothermal treatment was analyzed and the mechanism of microstructure refining was discussed.The result of orthogonal experiment design shows that the optimum parameters are 462 ℃for solution temperature,40min for solution time,132 ℃for aging temperature and 14 h for aging time.Microstructure of isothermal treatment is fine,homogenous,with globular solid grains and a solid fraction between 50%and 70%,which is qualified for later semi-solid forming process.Mechanism of microstructure evolution includes the agglomeration ofα-phase and Ostwald ripening.Precipitations prepared by solution and aging treatment prevent the grains from coarsening and promote the grain ripening to globular shape.

Effects of annular electromagnetic stirring processing parameters on semi-solid slurry production

A computational model coupling an electromagnetic model with a macroscopic heat and fluid flow model in semi-solid aluminum alloy slurry preparation by annular electromagnetic stirring(A-EMS) was developed.Effects of A-EMS processing parameters,such as stirring current,stirring frequency and stirring gap width,on macroscopic transport phenomena during the solidification were analyzed by commercial software ANSYS 10.0 with corresponding experimental verification.The results show that the magnetic flux density and the melt velocity increase and the temperature difference decreases as stirring gap width and stirring frequency decrease or the stirring current increases.The slurry with the fine and uniform globular grain structure can be gained by adjusting gap width,electromagnetic frequency and current,such as under the conditions of 10 mm of gap width,10 Hz of electromagnetic frequency and 50 A of current.The calculated results are in reasonably good agreement with the measured ones.

Performance of Semi-solid Slurry Produced by Twin-screw Stirring Mixer and Rheo-diecasting Process of AZ91D Alloy

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.

Effects of primary phase morphology on mechanical properties of Al-Si-Mg-Fe alloy in semi-solid slurry casting process

The gas induced semi-solid(GISS) process was developed to create semi-solid slurry with fine and uniform globular structure.The combination of local rapid heat extraction and vigorous agitation by the injection of fine inert gas bubbles through a graphite diffuser in molten metal held at a temperature above its liquidus temperature changes the morphology of primary α(Al) from coarse dendritic to rosette-like and finally to fine globular.The GISS process produced semi-solid slurry at low solid fractions and then formed the slurry by a squeeze casting process to produce casting parts.The effects of primary phase morphology on the mechanical properties of Al-Si-Mg-Fe alloy were investigated.The results show that the ultimate tensile strength and elongation are affected by the shape factor and particle size of the primary α(Al).

Trend and Development of Semi-Solid Metal Processing

This paper reviewed the trend and development of semi-solid metal technique. The processes and mechanisms for producing slurry of SSM and its industrial applications have been summarized and discussed. Discussions on the basic rheological theory are presented for more applications. Further consideration of the development and application of SSM technique is also proposed.

Preparation of semi-solid slurry at power frequency by annulus electromagnetic stirring method

The effect of stirring frequency on the semi-solid A357 aluminum alloy microstructure was investigated by annulus electromagnetic stirring(AEMS) method. The microstructures obtained by AEMS method and ordinary electromagnetic stirring(EMS)method were compared and analyzed. The results show that the primary α(Al) particles become more spherical and fine, and disperse uniformly in a liquid matrix with increasing stirring frequency, and higher stirring frequency is advantageous to obtain the fine spherical semi-solid microstructure by AEMS. Compared with the microstructures obtained at stirring frequency of 50 Hz in EMS, the fine spherical and uniformly distributed semi-solid microstructures can be still obtained at stirring frequency of 50 Hz in AEMS, so stirring frequency of 50 Hz is recommended in AEMS to save investment cost on frequency-conversion facilities.

COMPUTER SIMULATION OF CONTINUOUS ELECTROMAGNETIC STIRRING FOR MAKING RHEOLOGIC SEMI-SOLID SLURRY OF ZL112Y ALUMINUM ALLOY

To realize the technology of fabricating the rheologic semi-solid slurry of ZL112Y aluminum alloy via continues electromagnetic stirring process, ANSYS software was used to simulate electromagnetic force field and fluid velocity field in the alloy melt in a crucible tube in three coils. In the first section of the paper, eletromagnetic force field and fluid velocity field caused by single coil were simulated. The result of this simulation gives an average velocity of 3.2 cm/s and it is called critical velocity because a fluid velocity over it will cause a fine and spherical structure of solid primary a in a semi-solid melt. And, from this result, a reasonable temperature of semi-solid of the alloy and an electrical current intensity were established. The electrical current intensity of the result of this simulation corresponded to the current intensity used in a practice experiment, in which the primary α was obviously refined and sphericized. Based on this simulation of single coil electromagnetic stirring, in the second section of the paper, eletromagnetic force field and fluid velocity field caused by three coils were simulated. The result of the simulation shows that, 1） there is a semi-solid zone of 32 mm from bottom of the crucible tube to the upper; 2） the electrical current intensities of three coils of 400 A, 600 A, and 400 A, which were set to top range, middle range and bottom range of the tube, respectively, were the optimum parameters of electromagnetic current intensity under the condition of this investigation; and 3） under effect of these electromagnetic current intensity, the fluid velocities of the melt in the tube were 6.3 cm/s in top range, 3.75 cm/s in middle range, and 3.9 cm/s in bottom range of it, respectively.

Slurry-like hybrid electrolyte with high lithium-ion transference number for dendrite-free lithium metal anode

Lithium metal anode is regarded as the ultimate choice for next-generation energy storage systems,due to the lowest negative electrochemical potential and super high theoretical specific capacity.However,the growth of lithium dendrite during the cycling process is still one of the most critical bottlenecks for its application.In this work,a slurry-like hybrid electrolyte is proposed towards the application for lithium metal anode,which is composed of a liquid electrolyte part and a nanometric silane-Al2O3 particle part.The hybrid electrolyte shows high ionic conductivity(3.89×10-3 S cm-1 at 25℃)and lithium-ion transference number(0.88).Especially,the resistance of hybrid electrolyte decreases compared to that of liquid electrolyte,while the viscosity of hybrid electrolyte increases.It is demonstrated that the hybrid electrolyte can effectively suppress the growth of lithium dendrite.Stable cycling of Li/Li cells at a current density up to 1 mA cm-2 is possible.The hybrid electrolyte helps to uniform the lithium ion flux inside the battery and partly comes from the formation of a rigid and highly conductive hybrid interfacial layer on the surface of lithium metal.This work not only provides a fresh way to stabilize lithium metal anode but also sheds light on further research for electrolyte optimization and design of lithium metal battery system.

Energy Dissipation and Apparent Viscosity of Semi-solid Metal during Rheological Processes PartⅡ:Apparent Viscosity

This study investigated the rheological properties of semi-solid metal. An analytical model of apparent viscosity was built up based on analysis of energy dissipation during rheological processes such as slurry preparing, delivering and model filling. The rheological properties of SSM （semi-solid metal） slurry was described by an analytical model in terms of microstructural parameters, which consist of effective solid fraction, particle size and shape, and flow parameters such as mean velocity, fluctuant velocity and relative velocity between liquid and solid phase. The model was verified in the experiment of A356 alloys with a coaxial double-bucket rheometer. And the maximum relative error between the theoretical value and measured one is less than 20%. The results of experiment and theoretical calculation also indicate that the microstructural parameters and flow parameters are two major factors that affect the apparent viscosity of semi-solid alloys, and fluctuant velocity and relative velocity between liquid and solid phase are the key factors to distinguish between steady and transient rheological properties.

Slurry electrolysis of ocean polymetallic nodule

The ocean poly-metallic nodule was leached by using slurry electrolysis process in HCl-NaCl medium.The leaching rates of Mn,Co,Cu and Ni in the ocean poly-metallic nodule are all above 97%.Meanwhile,the high purity of electrolytic MnO2 is also obtained as an anode product.The effects of electrolysis electric quantity,acidity,temperature,slurry density,grain size and iron ions concentration were studied.The results show that the ocean poly-metallic nodule can be treated economically in the slurry electrolysis process.

Influence of surface liquid segregation on corrosion behavior of semi-solid metal high pressure die cast aluminium alloys

The corrosion behavior(in chloride medium) of the surface layer of SSM-HPDC plates of alloys 7075-T6 and 2024-T6 was compared with that of the wrought alloys 7075-T6 and 2024-T6.Potentiodynamic testing was performed in deaerated 3.5%NaCl solution.In separate tests,the open-circuit potential was monitored in aerated 3.5% NaCl for 30 min after immersion.The electrochemical tests show that there is no significant difference in the pitting potential of the wrought alloys and that of the Cu-enriched surfaces of the SSM-HPDC alloys.

沼液配施化肥对蜜柚产量、品质及土壤重金属的影响

在福建省平和县,以8年生琯溪蜜柚为试验树,田间定位连续3年施用养猪场猪粪沼液,研究等量氮磷钾条件下不同比例沼液与化肥配施对蜜柚产量、品质及土壤重金属和盐分的影响。结果表明,与施用纯化肥(采用普通尿素、过磷酸钙和硫酸钾,每年株施N、P_(2)O_(5)和K_(2)O分别为950.0、600.0和850.0 g)相比较,沼液替代25%化肥(以氮计,不足的氮、磷、钾养分用化肥补足)和替代50%化肥处理有增产优势,同时对果实品质无负面影响,沼液替代100%化肥无增产作用且会使果实品质下降;所有沼液处理会降低裂果率;沼液替代25%化肥不会加重果实粒化率,其他沼液处理会加重果实粒化率。随沼液替代比例和施用年限的增加,土壤中Cu和Zn含量显著增加,但均低于农用地土壤污染风险管控标准(GB 15618—2018),土壤电导率随沼液替代比例的增加而增加。沼液替代25%化肥在蜜柚果园应用的综合效果较好,可在生产上推广,但更长期施用沼液的影响还需进一步评估。

考虑灌浆料龄期的钢筋-金属波纹管浆锚连接锚固性能试验研究

为研究钢筋-金属波纹管浆锚连接的锚固性能,设计制作18组连接件,并完成拉拔试验。基于试验结果研究钢筋锚固长度la、灌浆料龄期T与螺旋箍筋约束对浆锚连接锚固性能的影响。试验结果表明,所有锚固钢筋均经历完整的弹性阶段与屈服阶段,最终试件表现为钢筋粘结-滑移破坏、钢筋拉断两种破坏形式。当灌浆料龄期T=3 d时,试件均发生粘结-滑移破坏;当灌浆料龄期T=7 d且锚固长度la≥13d时,试件均出现钢筋断裂破坏;当灌浆料龄期T=28 d时,无配箍试件锚固长度l_(a)=7d时、配箍试件l_(a)=5d时出现钢筋断裂破坏。提高钢筋锚固长度、灌浆料龄期与配置螺旋箍筋约束有利于试件的极限强度提高,并趋近钢筋实验抗拉强度,显著降低钢筋的弹性阶段滑移量,提高初始刚度,提升试件的锚固性能。实际工程中,当孔径比不小于2.6时,为确保3 d与7 d锚固性能,锚固长度应大于13d;为确保正常工作中钢筋充分发挥其力学性能,锚固长度应不小于10d。