A mathematic model of the solid fraction during rheo-casting by the cooling sloping plate process was established, and the effects of the process parameters on the solid fraction were analyzed. The calculation results show that the experimental result is approximately agreed with the calculation value. The effect of the casting temperature on the change rate of the solid fraction is not obvious. But the beginning solidification length is greatly influenced by the casting temperature. The beginning solidification length increases with the increment of the casting temperature. The effect of the sloping angle on the solid fraction becomes obvious with the increment of the sloping plate length. The solid fraction increases sharply with the decrease of the initial thickness of the melt. The melt initial thickness between 15 and 20 mm is suggested.
Renguo GUANZhanyong ZHAOHongqian HUANGQiusheng ZHANGChunming LIU
A semisolid slurry of AZ31 magnesium alloy was prepared by vibrating wavelike sloping plate process,and the semisolid die forging process,microstructures,and properties of the magnesium alloy mobile telephone shell were investigated.The semisolid forging process was performed on a YA32-315 four-column universal hydraulic press.The microstructures were observed by optical microscopy,the hardness was analyzed with a model 450SVD Vickers hardometer,the mechanical properties was measured with a CMT5105 tensile test machine,and the fractograph of elongated specimens was observed by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）.The results reveal that with the increase of die forging force,the microstructures of the product become fine and dense.A lower preheating temperature and a longer dwell time are favorable to the formation of fine and dense microstructures.The optimum process conditions of preparing mobile telephone shells with excellent surface quality and microstructures are a die forging force of 2000 kN,a die preheating temperature of 250℃,and a dwell time of 240 s.After solution treatment at 430℃ and aging at 220℃ for 8 h,the Vickers hardness is 61.7 and the ultimate tensile strength of the product is 193MPa.Tensile fractographs show the mixing mechanisms of quasi-cleavage fracture and ductile fracture.
Heat transfer of flow melt and grain refining mechanism during melt treatment by the cooling sloping plate were investigated. The results show that the cooling sloping plate can refine not only grains of alloys but also can obviously refine pure metal. Cooling ability of the plate is the key factor that induces grain refining, the plate material and the flow amount can affect cooling rate of the melt and thus affect refining effectiveness. The cooling rate of the melt on the cooling sloping plate is much faster than that of the conventional casting process, which can reach 1000 K/s and belongs to meta-rapid solidification scope. The thickness of the temperature boundary layer is much larger than that of the velocity boundary layer on the sloping plate, but the temperature gradient is small in the temperature boundary layer. Under strong cooling action by the cooling plate, most parts of the melt on the plate surface can form undercooling, which causes continuous eruptive nucleation, this is the main grain refining mechanism, and the heterogeneous nucleation on the plate surface is a helpful supplement for the nucleation.
Renguo GUANZhanyong ZHAORunze CHAOHongqian HUANGChunming LIU
