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Thixotropy in Semisolid Steel Slurries under Rapid Compression

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Abstract

Two grades of steel, an M2 tool steel and a high-performance HP9/4/30 steel, were used as raw material for thixoforming. The M2 has a large semisolid range of over 473 K (200 °C), while that for HP9/4/30 is much narrower, i.e., around 70 °C. Thixoforming is easier in alloys with a wide semisolid temperature range. Partial remelting was carried out to produce feedstock material for thixoforming. On partial remelting, the large carbides in M2 seed liquation and help with the breakup of the microstructure to form spheroids as required for thixoforming. In contrast, HP9/4/30 partial remelting produces a coarser microstructure with truncated solid cells, but this has been shown to be suitable for thixoforming. Thixoforming of M2 at 1633 K (1360 °C), which corresponds to about 32 pct liquid volume content, resulted in complete die filling. HP9/4/30 was thixoformed at a higher liquid fraction due to its less suitable microstructure, in the temperature range of 1743 K to 1753 K (1470 °C to 1480 °C) at various holding times and ram speeds. During thixoforming, load-displacement curves were obtained. Viscosities were deduced from these using the analysis developed by Laxmanan and Flemings. Hence, the shear thinning of two high-temperature metallic systems was characterized and the load-displacement signals correlated with thixoforming behavior. For successful thixoforming, the load-displacement curve will have very little initial resistance to flow (the initial peak that characterizes the breakup of the solid skeleton) and a low flow stress.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, a.k.a The National University of Malaysia (Malaysia), for financial assistance; the University of Sheffield (Sheffield, United Kingdom), for the provision of laboratory facilities; Corus Engineering Steels (Rotherham, United Kingdom) for supplying the HP9/4/30 steel; and A.A Howe and E.J. Palmiere, University of Sheffield, for their helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering Materials, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 3JD, United Kingdom

    M. Z. Omar (PhD Student, Associate Professor), H. V. Atkinson (Reader, Professor and Head of Mechanics of Materials Group) & P. Kapranos (Senior Research Fellow and Short Courses Director)

  2. Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (The National University of Malaysia), 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    M. Z. Omar (PhD Student, Associate Professor)

  3. Department of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, United Kingdom

    H. V. Atkinson (Reader, Professor and Head of Mechanics of Materials Group)

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  1. M. Z. Omar
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Correspondence to M. Z. Omar.

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Manuscript submitted August 17, 2010.

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Omar, M.Z., Atkinson, H.V. & Kapranos, P. Thixotropy in Semisolid Steel Slurries under Rapid Compression. Metall Mater Trans A 42, 2807–2819 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-011-0671-6

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