On the Liquid Portion Composition Deviation in the RheoMetal Process

Abstract

Semisolid processing can provide an avenue to reduced rejection rates during casting and increased capability of thin-walled castings leading to improved resource efficiency and reduced climate impact. In the RheoMetalTM process, the slurry is formed far from equilibrium. A consequence to the deviation from equilibrium is that conventional guidelines for process stability may not give the correct appreciation of the process window, nor on the correct solid fractions generated. The solid fraction provides the slurry properties and its dependence on temperature should in theory provide the stable process window. This is discussed using data from literature and an alternative approach to identify the process stability window is given.