Effect of process variables and melt treatment conditions during cooling slope semi solid slurry generation process of Al-7Si-0.3 Mg alloy

Abstract

Simulation studies on semi solid slurry preparation of A356 alloy employing cooling slope technique, with the help of an existing multiphase and multiscale model, are presented here. The constituent phases considered in the multiphase model are the liquid melt of A356 alloy, near spherical primary Al grains, and air. The numerical study features prediction of slurry morphology, for a desired set of process conditions of cooling slope slurry formation technique. In particular, the effects of melt pouring temperature into the slope, slope angle variation and addition of grain refiner and modifier within the melt on the thermophysical and morphological properties of the generated slurry are studied. Attempts are made to gain insight into the transport phenomena of cooling slope slurry generation process, with respect to volume fraction of constituent phases, morphological evolution of solidifying primary Al grains, viscosity distribution, temperature field, velocity field, macro and micro segregation, and isothermal coarsening kinetics of α-Al grains. The efficacy of the multiphase model is validated by performing relevant experiments.