Rheological properties of ADC12 Al alloy in the semi-solid state

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present investigation emphasises on rheological behaviour of semi-solid slurry of ADC12 Al alloy in order to understand mould filling behaviour during semi-solid processing. Three different experimental investigations are done using rheometer, namely, continuous cooling test, isothermal test and shear jump test, to understand the rheological behaviour of ADC12 Al alloy. Continuous cooling tests reveal increase in slurry viscosity with decrease in temperature at a specific shear rate. The isothermal test results show decreasing viscosity with increase in rate of shear and confirm that semi-solid slurry experiences shear-thinning phenomena. Shear jump experiments (SJEs) show that the viscosity of the semi-solid slurry is less sensitive at higher shear rate, which is desirable. The steady state and iso-structural stress values (obtained from SJEs) at low shear rate region showcase an upward movement of solid content, i.e. with a proportionally downward slurry temperature.