Abstract
The semisolid state in a metallic alloy can be obtained either during solidification from the liquid state, or during partial remelting from the solid state. Metal forming during solidification (rheocasting) has been studied in the early stages of the development of semisolid processing by Flemings and his coworkers, but it was not the main forming method until very recently with the development of the new rheocasting (NRC) process. However, solidification of an alloy with mechanical, passive, or electromagnetic stirring was extensively used to produce globular microstructures. Therefore, knowledge of the rheological properties of alloys subjected to stirring during solidification is of great importance in comparison with non-stirred alloys on the one hand and with partially remelted alloys on the other hand. Metal forming was thus mainly carried out after partial remelting: thixoforming (thixocasting or thixoforging) is then concerned with solid fractions, which can vary in a quite large range, from 10 to 20% in thixomolding to much larger values in thixoforging. Study of the rheological behavior of alloys during such a treatment is therefore also important for better forming conditions and improved properties of the formed components. The alloys studied from a rheological point of view belong essentially to three categories: the model alloys like Sn–Pb with a low melting temperature for which the experiments are relatively easy, the aluminum and magnesium alloys, which are the main thixoformed alloys, and the alloys with a high melting temperature for which only feasibility tests have been carried out.
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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Kirkwood, D.H., Suéry, M., Kapranos, P., Atkinson, H.V., Young, K.P. (2009). Introduction and Definitions for Rheology and Modeling. In: Semi-solid Processing of Alloys. Springer Series in Materials Science, vol 124. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00706-4_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00706-4_5
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Online ISBN: 978-3-642-00706-4
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