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.

Research progress in friction stir processing of magnesium alloys and their metal matrix surface composites: Evolution in the 21^(st )century

Rising concerns about climate change drive the demand for lightweight components.Magnesium(Mg)alloys are highly valued for their low weight,making them increasingly important in various industries.Researchers focusing on enhancing the characteristics of Mg alloys and developing their Metal Matrix Composites(MMCs)have gained significant attention worldwide over the past decade,driven by the global shift towards lightweight materials.Friction Stir Processing(FSP)has emerged as a promising technique to enhance the properties of Mg alloys and produce Mg-MMCs.Initially,FSP adapted to refine grain size from the micro to the nano level and accelerated the development of MMCs due to its solid-state nature and the synergistic effects of microstructure refinement and reinforcement,improving strength,hardness,ductility,wear resistance,corrosion resistance,and fatigue strength.However,producing defect-free and sound FSPed Mg and Mg-MMCs requires addressing several variables and their interdependencies,which opens up a broad range of practical applications.Despite existing reviews on individual FSP of Mg,its alloys,and MMCs,an attempt has been made to analyze the latest research on these three aspects collectively to enhance the understanding,application,and effectiveness of FSP for Mg and its derivatives.This review article discusses the literature,classifies the importance of Mg alloys,provides a historical background,and explores developments and potential applications of FSPed Mg alloys.It focuses on novel fabrication methods,reinforcement strategies,machine and tool design parameters,material characterization,and integration with other methods for enhanced properties.The influence of process parameters and the emergence of defects are examined,along with specific applications in mono and hybrid composites and their microstructure evolution.The study identifies promising reinforcement materials and highlights research gaps in FSP for Mg alloys and MMCs production.It concludes with significant recommendations for further exploration,reflecting ongoing advancements in this field.

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

The energy dissipation caused by the viscous force has great effects on the flow property of semi-solid metal during rheological processes such as slurry preparing, delivering and cavity filling. Experimental results in this paper indicate that the viscous friction between semi-solid metal and pipe wall, the collisions among the solid particles, and the liquid flow around particles are the three main types of energy dissipation. On the basis of the hydromechanics, the energy dissipation calculation model is built. It is demonstrated that the micro-structural parameters such as effective solid fraction, particle size and shape, and flow parameters such as the mean velocity, the fluctuant velocity of particles and the relative velocity between the fluid and solid phase, affect the energy dissipation of semi-solid metal.

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.

Fast and Balanced Charge Transport Enabled by Solution-Processed Metal Oxide Layers for Efficient and Stable Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells

Metal oxide charge transport materials are preferable for realizing long-term stable and potentially low-cost perovskite solar cells(PSCs).However,due to some technical difficulties(e.g.,intricate fabrication protocols,high-temperature heating process,incompatible solvents,etc.),it is still challenging to achieve efficient and reliable all-metal-oxide-based devices.Here,we developed efficient inverted PSCs(IPSCs)based on solution-processed nickel oxide(NiO_(x))and tin oxide(SnO_(2))nanoparticles,working as hole and electron transport materials respectively,enabling a fast and balanced charge transfer for photogenerated charge carriers.Through further understanding and optimizing the perovskite/metal oxide interfaces,we have realized an outstanding power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 23.5%(the bandgap of the perovskite is 1.62 eV),which is the highest efficiency among IPSCs based on all-metal-oxide charge transport materials.Thanks to these stable metal oxides and improved interface properties,ambient stability(retaining 95%of initial PCE after 1 month),thermal stability(retaining 80%of initial PCE after 2 weeks)and light stability(retaining 90%of initial PCE after 1000 hours aging)of resultant devices are enhanced significantly.In addition,owing to the low-temperature fabrication procedures of the entire device,we have obtained a PCE of over 21%for flexible IPSCs with enhanced operational stability.

Low-temperature purification process of metallurgical silicon

The removal of B and P consumes most of heat energy in Si metallurgical purification process for solar-grade Si. Metal-liquating purification of metallurgical grade silicon （MG-Si）, also called Si-recrystallization from metal liquid, was a potential energy-saving method for the removal of B and P efficiently, since Si could be melted at lower temperature by alloying with metal. The selection criteria of metal-liquating system was elaborated, and Al, Sn and In were selected out as the optimum metallic mediums. For Sn-Si system, the segregation coefficient of B decreased to 0.038 at 1 500 K, which was much less than 0.8 at the melting point of Si. The mass fraction of B was diminished from 15×10^-6 to 0.1×10^-6 as MG-Si was purified by twice, while that of most metallic elements could be decreased to 0.1×10^-6 by purifying just once. During the metal-liquating process, the formation of compounds between impurity elements and Si was also an important route of impurity removal. Finally, one low-temperature metallurgical process based on metal-liquating method was proposed.

Application of cyclic upsetting-extrusion to semi-solid processing of AZ91D magnesium alloy

The microstructural evolution of AZ91D magnesium alloy prepared by means of the cyclic upsetting-extrusion and partial remelting was investigated. The effects of remelting temperature and holding time on microstructure of semi-solid AZ91D magnesium alloy were studied. Furthermore, tensile properties of thixoextruded AZ91D magnesium alloy components were determined. The results show that the cyclic upsetting-extrusion followed by partial remelting is effective in producing semi-solid AZ91D magnesium alloy for thixofonning. During the partial remelting, with the increase of remelting temperature and holding time, the solid grain size increases and the degree of spheroidization tends to be improved. The tensile mechanical properties of thixoextruded AZ91D magnesium alloy components produced by cyclic upsetting-extrusion and partial remelting are better than those of the same alloy produced by casting.

Formation and evolution characteristics of bcc phase during isothermal relaxation processes of supercooled liquid and amorphous metal Pb

The formation and evolution characteristics of bcc phase during the isothermal relaxation processes for supercooled-liquid and amorphous Pb were investigated by molecular dynamics simulation and cluster-type index method （CTIM）. It is found that during the relaxation process, the formation and evolution of bcc phase are closely dependent on the initial temperature and structure. During the simulation time scale, when the initial temperature is in the range of supercooled liquid region, the bcc phase can be formed and kept a long time; while it is in the range of glassy region, the bcc phase can be formed at first and then partially transformed into hcp phase; when it decreases to the lower one, the hcp and fcc phases can be directly transformed from the glassy structure without undergoing the metastable bcc phase. The Ostwald＇s ＂step rule＂ is impactful during the isothermal relaxation process of the supercooled and glassy Pb, and the metastable bcc phase plays an important role in the precursor of crystallization.

Densification process of 10%B_4C-AA2024 matrix composite strips by semi-solid powder rolling

Semi-solid powder rolling（SSPR） is a novel strip manufacturing process,which includes the features of semi-solid rolling and powder rolling.In this work,densification process and deformation mechanisms of B4 C and AA2024 mixed powders in the presence of liquid phase were investigated.The relationships between relative densities and rolling forces were analyzed as well.The results show that liquid fraction plays an important role in the densification process which can be divided into three stages.Rolling deformation is the main densification mechanism in deformation area when the liquid fraction is lower than 20%.When the liquid fraction is equal to or higher than 20%,the flowing and filling of liquid phase are the densification mechanisms in deformation area.The relative densities increase with increasing rolling forces.The relative density–rolling force curves are similar at 550 °C and 585 °C.The characteristics of the curve shapes are apparently different at 605 °C and 625 °C.

Deep Tectonic Processes and Superaccumulation of Metals Related to Granitoids in the Nanling MetaUogenic Province,China

The Nanling region is an important nonferrous and rare metal metallogenic province in South China, in which most of the deposits are related to granitoids in genesis. It covers southern Hunan, southern Jiangxi, Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian provinces, with a total area of about 550,000 km2. This metallogenic province is well known in the world for its rich tungsten and tin resources. In the past 40-odd years, a vast amount of mineral exploration activities and studies of the geology of mineral deposits have been carried out and great achievements obtained in the province. This paper is focused on a discussion about the deep tectonic processes in the orogenic belt during the Mesozoic and their contribution to the superaccumulation of metals. Tectonically, this metallogenic province is composed of three units: (1) the marginal continental orogenic belt in the Southeastern Coast fold system in the Yanshanian; (2) the intercontinental orogenic belt in the collision suture belt between the Yangtze and Cathay-sian plates mainly in the Caledonian; and (3) the intracontinental orogenic belt induced by subduction of the ocean crust and delimination of the mantle lithosphere in the Yanshanian. It is suggested that superaccumulation of metals in this metallogenic province was caused by the existence of mantle rooted tectonics at the depth based on comprehensive studies of geophysical information of seismic, geothermal and magnetotelluric surveys in Nanling and its adjacent areas. The Xihuashan wolframite quartz vein deposit, the Shizhuyuan W, Sn, Mo, Bi greisen-skarn deposit and the Dachang tin-polymetallic deposit are three typical examples of the deep tectonic processes. However, this kind of deep tectonic processes only act as the 'engine' of the superaccumulation of metals, which means that they should have to correspond with the super-crust ore-controlling pattern of 'lines-rows-clusters' (L-R-C). This recog-nization is expected to play an important role in assessment of mineral resources in this province.

Industrial development of gas induced semi-solid process

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.

A simulation study of microstructure evolution during solidification process of liquid metal Ni

A molecular dynamics simulation study has been performed for the microstructure evolution in a liquid metal Ni system during crystallization process at two cooling rates by adopting the embedded atom method （EAM） model potential. The bond-type index method of Honeycutt-Andersen （HA） and a new cluster-type index method （CTIM-2） have been used to detect and analyse the microstructures in this system. It is demonstrated that the cooling rate plays a critical role in the microstructure evolution： below the crystallization temperature Tc, the effects of cooling rate are very remarkable and can be fully displayed. At different cooling rates of 2.0 × 10^13 K·s^-1 and 1.0 × 10^12 K·s^-1, two different kinds of crystal structures are obtained in the system. The first one is the coexistence of the hcp （expressed by （12 0 0 0 6 6） in CTIM-2） and the fcc （12 0 0 0 12 0） basic clusters consisting of 1421 and 1422 bond-types, and the hcp basic cluster becomes the dominant one with decreasing temperature, the second one is mainly the fcc （12 0 0 0 12 0） basic clusters consisting of 1421 bond-type, and their crystallization temperatures Tc would be 1073 and 1173 K, respectively.

Semi-solid processing of hypereutectic A390 alloys using novel rheoforming process

The feasibility of semi solid processing of hypereutectic A390 alloys using a novel rheoforming process was investigated. A combination of the swirl enthalpy equilibration device （SEED） process, isothermal holding using insulation and addition of solid alloy during swirling was introduced as a novel method to improve the processability of semi solid slurry. The effects of isothermal holding and the addition of solid alloy on the temperature gradient between the centre and the wall and on the formation of a（Al） particles were examined. In additional tests, phosphorus and strontium were added to the molten metal to refine the primary and eutectic silicon structure to facilitate semi solid processing. The results show that the combination of the SEED process with two additional processing steps can produce semi-solid A390 alloys that can be rheoprocessed. The microstructure reveals an adequate amount of non-dendritic a（Al） globules surrounded by liquid, which greatly improves the processability of semi-solid slurry.

Microstructure evolution of processed Mg-Al-Zn alloy by equal channel angular extrusion in semi-solid isothermal treatment

Microstructure evolution of processed Mg-Al-Zn alloy by equal channel angularextrusion(ECAE) in semi-solid isothermal treatment was investigated. The results show that withincreasing semi-solid isothermal treatment temperature, the a phase solid grain size of processedMg-Al-Zn alloy by ECAE increases firstly due to coarsening of a phase solid grains, then decreasesdue to melting of a phase solid grains. With the increase of extrusion passes during ECAE, the aphase solid grain size in the following semi-solid isothermal treatment decreases. The a phase solidgrain size of processed Mg-Al-Zn alloy by ECAE under route B_C is the smallest, while the a phasesolid grain size of processed material by ECAE under route A is the largest. The primary mechanismof spheroid formation depends on the melting of recrystallizing boundaries and diffusion of soluteatoms in the semi-solid state.

Effects of compressing and remelting in SIMA processing on semi-solid structure evolution of an Al-Zn wrought alloy

Structure evolution of an Al-Zn wrought alloy in remelting processing in thestrain induced melt activated (SIMA) serai-solid procedure was observed, and effects of factors, theremelting temperature, the holding time, and the compression strain, on structures and grain sizesof the alloy were investigated. The results show that (1) the proper temperature of remelting is inthe range of 610 to 615℃; (2) the grain size in specimen with greater compression strain is smallerthan that with smaller compression strain in condition of the same remelting temperature andholding time, and the grain size in local area with great local equivalent strain is smaller thanthat with small one; (3) liquid occurs in form of cluster in matrix during remelting and itsquantity increases with remelting time increasing; liquid in specimen with great compression strainoccurs earlier than that with small one, and quantity of liquid in the center of specimen withgreater local equivalent strain is greater than that in the two ends of it; (4) distortion energyafter deforming in matrix of the alloy is the significant factor to activate melting of matrix atlocal area with great local equivalent strain.

Semi-solid processing of aluminum and magnesium alloys:Status,opportunity,and challenge in China

Owing to its low cost,short process and low energy consumption,semi-solid processing(SSP)of aluminum(Al)and magnesium(Mg)alloys has been considered as a competitive approach to fabricate complicated components with excellent performance.Over the past decade,significant progress has been achieved in deeply understanding the SSP process,the microstructure and performance of the fabricated components in China.This paper starts with a retrospective overview of some common slurry preparation methods,followed by presenting the performance and the underlying mechanisms of SSP fabricated alloys.Then,the mainstream opinions on the microstructure evolution and rheological flow behavior of semi-solid slurry are discussed.Subsequently,the general situation and some recent examples of industrial applications of SSP are presented.Finally,special attention is paid to the unresolved issues and the future directions in SSP of Al and Mg alloys in China.

Effects of Cr and Cr/Mn Combined Additions on Semi-Solid Microstructures of Al-Mg-Si Alloys Produced by D-SSF Process

The effects of Cr and Cr/Mn combined additions on the semi-solid microstructure of wrought Al-Mg-Si alloys are investigated.In the Cr-added alloy,the Al-7Cr compound is formed with homogeneously distributed in theα-Al matrix after homogenization.Both of the Al-7Cr andα-Al-（12）Mn3-Si-2 dispersiod particles are found in the homogenized microstructure of the Cr/Mn-added alloy.In the semi-solid microstructures,the smallestα-Al grains are obtained in the 60% cold-rolled alloys.After prolonged holding time,theα-Al grain size of the Cr/Mn-added alloy is smaller than that of the Cr-added alloy.Heavy deformation by cold-rolling accelerates spheroidization of theα-Al grains.The D-SSF process is found to be useful to modify the microstructures of both the Cr-added and Cr/Mn-added Al-Mg-Si alloys.

Semi-solid A356 alloy slurry for rheocasting prepared by a new process

To obtain the semi-solid slurry with uniform and fine structure morphology that satisfies the requirement of rheocasting process, a new process for preparing semi-solid AI alloy slurry was developed, in which local chilling was combined with low superheat pouring and slight electromagnetic stirring （LSPSEMS）. The morphology and the size of primary a-AI in the A356 alloy slurry prepared with the new process, i.e., LSPSEMS with local chilling, were investigated using MIAPS image analyzing software, and the grain refinement mechanism was discussed. The results indicate that the semi-solid primary phase consists of particle-like or globular-like a-AI, and the morphology and grain size of primary a-AI in the slurry can be markedly improved by the new process. The fine primary a-AI distributes uniformly in the slurry, which satisfies the requirement of rheocasting. Compared with the alloy prepared by LSPSEMS, the average equal-area-circle grain diameter of primary a-AI in semi-solid A356 alloy ingot prepared by the new process is decreased from 85.6μm to 68.8 μm at the central area, 112.6 μm to 77.6 μm at the transition area and is 84.7 μm in the edge area, respectively. The corresponding shape factor of primary a-AI is increased from 0.78 to 0.83, 0.54 to 0.77 and 0.28 to 0.59, respectively. In addition, the pouring temperature could be suitably raised from 620-630℃ of the traditional process to 650℃ using this technique, which is convenient for practical operation. The mechanism of grain refinement, in the new process, is that the local chilling quickens up the temperature decrease in the center of the melt. The nuclei could not grow up in a short time so the finer grains are formed in the melt.

Mechanical Properties,Purifying Techniques and Processing Methods of Metal Yttrium

The mechanical properties of metal yttrium such as strength, plasticity, hardness and elasticity were introduced . The purifying techniques of yttrium were discussed in detail. The processing methods for metal yttrium including extruding, forging, rolling, wiredrawing and welding were also introduced. Finally, the potential use of yttrium and its alloys were prospected.

Comparison of heavy metal removal efficiencies in four activated sludge processes

The removal efficiencies of heavy metals(As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) were investigated in the 17 operating municipal wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs) and compared with those in four main activated sludge processes. Significant differences of heavy metal removal efficiencies were observed among four activated sludge processes. The removal efficiency for As(75.5%) in the oxidation ditch(OD) process is significantly higher than that in the conventional activated sludge(CAS) process(38.6%) or sequencing batch reactor(SBR) process(51.4%). The mean removal efficiencies for Cu and Ni in the OD process are 90.5% and 46.7%, respectively, while low mean removal efficiencies are observed for Cu(69.9%) and Ni(16.5%), respectively, in the SBR process. The removal efficiencies for Cu and Ni in the OD process are significantly higher than those in the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic(A2-O) process. These results highlight the differences of removal efficiencies for heavy metals in different processes and should be considered when selecting a wastewater treatment process.