Globulization mechanism of the primary Al of Al-15Cu alloy during slurry preparation for rheoforming

Abstract

Semisolid slurries of Al-15Cu alloy were produced for rheoforming by a low temperature pouring technique. To investigate the morphological change of the slurry in terms of the particle mean diameter and the roundness factor, samples were extracted during the continuous cooling and the isothermal holding stage of the slurry by a simple technique of interrupt quenching. Results demonstrated that the fine-grained equiaxed dendritic structure, which formed during low temperature pouring, is changed to a globular structure when held at a semisolid temperature for sufficiently long holding time. With regard to the globulization mechanism of the primary alpha-phase, local melting is considered to take place at the neck of equiaxed dendrites, leading to the separation of small new particles during continuous cooling. These newly formed particles eventually grow during isothermal holding in the semisolid temperature by obeying the D-3 = Kt kinetic law, which suggests coarsening by Ostwald ripening.