Effect of Mechanical Stirring and Air Pressure on the Fluidity of SiCp/A357 Composites

Abstract

Stir casting is a near net shape process that can cast the composite components directly. Fluidity is an important factor for mold filling in casting process, but the fluidity of composite slurry is poor due to the addition of SiCp. In this research, SiCp/A357 composites with 20wt.% SiCp were manufactured by mechanical stir casting. Effect of mechanical stirring and air pressure on the fluidity of SiCp/A357 composites were investigated with eight thin flow channels. The fluidity was compared at different rotating speed and air pressure. The results showed that the fluidity increased with rotating speed, which was more obvious in semi-solid interval. It was noticed that the fluidity decreased with air pressure, the gas involving and the cooling speed were aggravated with air pressure increasing, which reduced the fluidity.

Study on Thixoforming Process of 15%SiCp/2A14 Composite for Production of Track Shoe

“…Simulation by using Deform 3D software is widely used in forming process, which can greatly improve the work efficiency, shorten the cycle, and reduce costs [7]. In this paper, based on the 15%SiCp/2A14 composite prepared by the mechanical stirring casting method [8], the semi-solid thixoforming of track shoes was studied to determine the optimal thixoforming parameters, its microstructure and mechanical properties were analyzed.…”