Two-phase Flow Characteristics in Hollow Shape Fabrication Process of Metal Matrix Composites by Thixoforging

Abstract

Among advanced manufacturing processes of metal matrix composite parts, thixoforging is one of the most effective forming processes. The investigation of this research article is to provide the proper conditions such as the die shape, the forging velocity, the forging time, the forging pressure, and reinforcement content in the thixoforming process for fabricating hollow shape parts. To investigate the effect of injection velocity and pressure on various defects in thixoforged cylinder liners, filling tests were performed by MAGMA S/W. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of calculated conditions, which are given by computer-aided engineering, A380 and SiCp/A380 cylinder liners were fabricated under the calculated conditions. SiCp/A380 composite billets were fabricated by both the mechanical stirring and electro-magnetic stirring processes. In the case of SiCp/A380 composite cylinder liners, the effect of reinforcement (SiCp) distribution, content (10-20 vol.%) and size (5.5-14 μm) on the mechanical properties was investigated.