Modeling the Flow Behavior of Metallic Alloys in Semi-Solid State

Semi-Solid metal alloys, as used in SSM processing, have a special microstructure of globular solid particles suspended in a liquid matrix, which makes them behave differently in forming processes. The sensitivity of semi-solid slurries to temperature variations and their history and rate dependant behavior, make process design and control difficult. Precise selection of the process parameters is necessary in part production. Therefore, a numerical analysis and simulation of the process can be a valuable tool in process design. In this work we proposed a structural dependent model to account for the thixotropic behavior of semi-solid metals. The parameters of the model were then determined using rheometery tests. The results show a good agreement between the model and the experiments.