Microstructure and Properties of ZL101 Alloy Affected by Substrate Movement Speed of a Novel Semisolid Continuous Micro Fused-Casting for Metal Process

Abstract

A novel semisolid continuous Micro Fused-Casting additive manufacturing technology for producing a ZL101 alloy strip was developed, Micro Fused-Casting means that the semisolid metal slurry was pressed out from the outlet of bottom of crucible to the movable plate. The degree of sub-cooling was easily provided by movement of substrate in the micro fused-casting area. Under the aid of 3D manufacturing software, the ZL101 alloy strip was solidified and formed layer by layer. The microstructure and properties of ZL101 semisolid slurry were improved by the cooling conditions. The results showed that the ZL101 alloy strip samples fabricated by Micro Fused-Casting had uniform structures and good performances with the substrate movement speed at 20 mm/s and the temperature at 590 °C, the ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the ZL101 alloy strip reached 242.59 MPa and 7.71%, while the average Vickers hardness was 82.55 HV.