Aerospace

Engineering.








Aerospace Engineering
Individual Investigative Project




CASTING OF ALUMINUM 201 IN THE SEMI-SOLID
STATE

BY

Latona Nahid Aktare Houssaine

May 2012


Supervisors: Dr P. KAPRANOS
Dissertation submitted to the University of Sheffield in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree of
Bachelor of Engineering

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Abstract

The most prominent technique for the rheocasting of aluminium alloys [Semi-Solid
Rheocasting (SSR)] has been dependent on the effectiveness of processing semi-solid slurries.
Contraction due to solidification and compensation for shrinkage, pouring technique from the
crucible to the mould cavity also dictates its effects on the final microstructures and therefore
the mechanical properties. Six batches of rheocasting were performed at varied temperatures
and stirred for different times and analysis to evaluate the solid fraction, particle density,
particle size, particle shape factor, and particle distribution was performed on the resulting
castings. This project examines the difficulties involved in Semi-solid rheocasting (SSR) of
aluminum alloy and investigates the alternatives these difficulties could be overcome by refined
techniques. The methodology employed in this case is the temperature dropped from the A3
melting point stirred at the required temperature hence poured in metal dies to study the
evolution of the microstructure from dendrite to non-dendritic microstructure in its semi-solid
state during the SSR process. To explore the success of SSR with an Al-Cu based alloy, the
SSR samples were heat treated T6 and undergone tensile testing to achieve appropriate
mechanical properties. Comparison in microstructures of naturally cooled and artificially aged
samples (T6) were part of the study probing in the progression of the microstructures after
homogenization.



















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Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1

2. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 4
2.1 History of Semi-Solid Metal Forming............................................................................................... 4
2.2 Applications of SSM ......................................................................................................................... 5
2.2.1 Aluminium-Copper Base Alloys (A201).................................................................................... 5
2.3 Rheocasting Processes ....................................................................................................................... 6
2.4 Structural Evolution during Rheocasting .......................................................................................... 7
2.4.1 Grain Density ............................................................................................................................. 7
2.4.2 Convection ................................................................................................................................. 8
2.4.3 Dendrite Fragmentation .............................................................................................................. 8
2.4.4 Particle Stability ......................................................................................................................... 9
2.4.5 Fluidity of Rheocast Alloy ......................................................................................................... 9

3. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES........................................................................ 11
3.1 Experimental Setup ......................................................................................................................... 11
3.2 Stirring Rod ..................................................................................................................................... 11
3.3 Microstructures................................................................................................................................ 11
3.4 Hydrostatic Weighing ..................................................................................................................... 11
3.5 Heat Treatment ................................................................................................................................ 12
3.6 Tensile Testing ................................................................................................................................ 12
3.7 Metallographic Etchants .................................................................................................................. 12

3. EXPERIMENTAL FIGURES ................................................................................... 13
3.1.1) Experimental Setup ..................................................................................................................... 13
3.2.1) Conventional & SSR Experiment 1 ............................................................................................ 14
3.3.1) SSR Experiment 2 ....................................................................................................................... 15
3.4.1) SSR Experiment 3 ....................................................................................................................... 16
3.5.1) Hydrostatic Machine ................................................................................................................... 17
3.6.1) Tensile Testing Machine ............................................................................................................. 17
3.5.1) Metallographic Etchants ............................................................................................................. 18

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3.5.1.1 Aluminium and Aluminium Alloys ........................................................................................... 18
3.5.1.2 PREPARATION OF ALUMINUM ALLOYS ......................................................................... 18
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................................. 19
4.1 Microstructures of 1
st
Experiment ................................................................................................... 19
4.1.1 Microstructures of Conventional Castings ............................................................................... 19
4.1.2 Microstructure of SSR Castings ................................................................................................... 20
4.2 Microstructures of 2
nd
Experiment .................................................................................................. 21
4.2.1 Microstructures of SSR Castings ............................................................................................. 21
4.2.2 Evaluation of SSR Casting Particles ........................................................................................ 22
4.3 Microstructures of 3
rd
Experiment................................................................................................... 23
4.3.1 Microstructures of SSR Castings ............................................................................................. 23
4.3.2 SSR Recrystallization Behaviour (T6 Heat-Treatment) ........................................................... 24
4.4 Relative Densities Evaluation ......................................................................................................... 24
4.5 Mechanical Properties of SSR Castings .......................................................................................... 25

4. FIGURES OF A201.0 ALLOY .................................................................................. 26
4.1.1) AA201.0 Alloy Conventional Sand Casting ............................................................................... 26
4.1.2) Optical Microstructures at higher resolution .............................................................................. 27
4.1.3) Conventional Sand Castings and SSR (Rheocasting) ................................................................. 28
4.2.1) Semi-Solid Rheocasting (SSR) ................................................................................................... 29
4.2.7) METALLOGRAPHY ANALYSIS ............................................................................................ 32
4.3.1) Semi-Solid Rheocasting (SSR) ................................................................................................... 33
4.3.2) Recrystallization Behaviour of SSR ........................................................................................... 35
4.3.2.1 SSR Microstructures at T6 Conditions .................................................................................. 35
4.4) POROSITY EVALUATION ......................................................................................................... 38
4.5) MECHANICAL PROPERTIES .................................................................................................... 39
4.6) MACROSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHS ............................................................................................. 42
5. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................... 44
Summary of Findings: ........................................................................................................................... 44
Suggested Further Work ........................................................................................................................ 45
Suggested Manufacturing Configurations: ............................................................................................ 46
6. REFERENCES ..................................................................................................... 48

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Acknowledgement

I am sincerely and heartily grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Plato Kapranos, for the support and
guidance he showed me throughout my final year project and dissertation work. His optimum
level of expertise and assistance enabled me to develop the understanding of the subject. Im
truly indebted for his time and devotion to the project notwithstanding the fact of his other
academic and professional commitments.

I would like to thank all the staff in the Department of Engineering Materials who gave me
assistance during project, especially Mr Philip Staton for his help with the rheocasting process.
I do thank all the colleagues in the rheocasting groups including scholars for the helpful
analytical reviews, National Research University Project of Thailand.

I also want to thank Mr. Sam Gascoyne for dedicating his time to facilitate my task in terms of
etching the samples and demonstrating the apt techniques for polishing.

Last but not least, I owe gratitude particularly to my parents and comrades for their continuous
support and encouragement throughout my years of study.












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1. INTRODUCTION

Semi-solid metal processing in recent years has gained more commercial significance in the
world of industrial applications. The needs to produce high quality parts at lower costs are the
centre of attention in the global market. During die filling, from the manufacturing point of
view, round and smaller crystal grains of less than 10 m [1] through a simple methodology of
induced convection (by stirring of the molten metal before introducing it into the die) during
solidification in order to improve the characteristics of metallic materials. Semi-Solid
Rheocasting (SSR) is the process employed whereby the molten metal is vigorously agitated
during solidification before being shaped into the final product. This process rips dendrite arms
due to induced shear forces, creating a highly viscous material that has high fluidity even
though over ~60% of the metal is solidified [2]. Desirable spheroidal microstructures are
formed quickly and efficiently from the molten alloy at the liquidus. SSR creates the possibility
to modify ordinary casting aluminium alloy such as A201 into semi-solid metal slurry with
properties that are conducive to forming into complex shaped dies. This allows SSR to use
conventional sand or die-casting to produce high-integrity, near-net-shape parts with strength
and ductility comparable to squeeze or permanent mould cast components at highly reduced
costs.
The main objective of the semi-solid rheocasting (SSR) technique adopted herewith is to
investigate the evolution of naturally cooled as well as artificially aged (heat treated T6)
microstructures and obtain good mechanical properties. In order to characterize the early stages
of the microstructures, the aluminium alloy A201 will be subjected to two different types of
casting process:
1) Conventional casting (gravity cast) and
2) Semi-Solid Rheocasting (SSR), whereby analysis shall illustrate the breakdown of
dendritic to near non-dendritic microstructures resulting in the desired fine near-
spheroidal grains.

After conventionally sand casting a batch of the 201 alloy, a set of five semi-solid rheocasting
batches at different agitation times were cast to observe the development of the microstructures.

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Subsequently, samples obtained through the SSR castings were heat treated, then machined and
subjected to tensile testing, relating the mechanical properties of the material to the
microstructures and possible defects resulting from the process.
Experimentation on different convection approaches were explored in order to observe the
microstructural behaviour of the Al-Cu alloy. As a result of fast growth of spheroidal of
microstructures at lower temperature when subjected to convection, these factors contribute to a
potentially significant reduction in operating cost when compared to conventional liquid casting
process. The challenge of rheocasting has been the limited knowledge about how to efficiently
process liquid alloy to create non-dendritic metal slurries whilst avoiding possible defects
introduced by the stirring operation.
Over the last 40 years, thixocasting process has been on the verge of establishing itself
as an important route for manufacturing parts quality by the industry [3], making use of
electromagnetically stirred billet as the starting feedstock, produced by continuous casters [4].
Feedstock material for semi-solid processing (generally known as thixoforming) has a very
particular non-dendritic structure that could be easily processed and manufactured into the
desired shaped upon the reheating of the billet into the solid-liquid temperature range before
forming into parts. However, poor estimated supply of the 3 inch diameter billets of the 2.7
million tons of aluminium castings hoard produced by the Magnetohydrodynamic stirring
(MHD) process, proved to be an Achilles heal for the thixoforming process in the North
American, European and Japanese markets; these cost challenges almost extinguishing the
current use of thixoforming in industry [5-6], with only few notable exceptions [7].
Signs are that in order for current exploitation in semi-solid metal forming to succeed advances
must be made in the rheocasting approach.
Rheocasting has immediate advantages over thixocasting:
1) Globule particles can be formed during solidification via applied convection; and
2) High recyclability of scrap on site [8].
Part quality remains the main aspect that is keeping the rheocasting process alive for industries
that pin their hopes on this process. However, in order for rheocasting to become a viable
worldwide industrial success, we need not only to understand and improve the initial stages of
solidification when convection is induced but to have the ability to do this consistently and at a
reduced cost.

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The main aim of this study is to develop an understanding of how particle morphology in
rheocast alloy evolves during the early stages of solidification and compare this to the existing
literature. The results from various sets of experiments are then compared with published work
on particle growth and mechanical properties obtained in the A201 alloy.

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2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 History of Semi-Solid Metal Forming

It all started back in the 1970s when SPENCER and FLEMINGS [9] at the MIT found that by
mechanically agitating a solidifying alloy in the solid-liquid temperature range, the solid phase
would be in the form of dendrite fragments turning into slurry of near-spherical particles in a
liquid matrix. Their investigations into the nature of these semi-solid slurries revealed that they
possessed unique rheological properties; they were thixotropic, i.e. they behaved like solids
when left undisturbed but they flowed like liquids when put under shear and this effect was also
time dependant. The thixotropic behaviour of the slurries allowed their formation into metal
parts of complex shapes, and the higher viscosity associated with them considerably reduced
the turbulent flow during mould filling, producing near net-shape products with better
properties due to the reduction of air entrapment and other inclusions. As the non-dendritic
feedstock microstructure became the key to this new process of metal forming, two semi-solid
processing routes were quickly established in order to exploit the industrial platform:
rheocasting and thixocasting. As the potential of this possible fruitful manufacturing route
for shaping metal alloys was quickly recognised by Prof. M.C. Flemings and his co-workers
they immediately moved to protect their IP and initiated the early development of semi-solid
metal forming route (SSM) [10-11-21]. As already stated earlier, the initial industrial
applications made use of the MHD feedstock production route by electromagnetically stirring
the melt into a continuously cast slurry that solidified into non-dendritic feedstock. This
feedstock could then be re-heated to the semi-solid state when needed and injected into a die
under the appropriate conditions using a forming press. The main drawbacks of the process
were the higher costs in feedstock production and the inability of the part manufacturers to
recycle any scrap material. This lead to the parallel re-development of the original Rheocasting
idea where slurries with dendrite structures disintegrate due to strong stirring agitation resulting
into non-dendritic structures that can be formed into parts either in sequence or by solidifying
and re-heating as required; the main difference here being the recyclability of materials. The
semi-solid metal (SSM) processing has proven to be an interesting route and in some of its
versions has gained commercial significance in the manufacturing world. However, it has never

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fulfilled the early indications of its vast potential; it has remained an interesting but niche
application process. Clearly the most important feature, and probably the factor that made the
economics of the process more complicated, is the production and control of the non-dendritic
microstructures throughout the feedstock. In order to attain the homogenization of
microstructures and the elimination of segregation in a semi-solid alloy feedstock, many
methods have been developed, such as NRC

, SLC

, SSR

, rheo-die casting, rapid-

Solidification and several more [12].

There is clearly the potential of developing new methodology in terms of manufacturing cost
effective quality parts such as cylinder engine blocks recently accomplished by Honda in line to
be marketed in Europe [13-21], but the fact remains that semi-solid rheocasting has not yet
established a firm foot hold in producing quality parts needed by todays industries on a large
scale, although it has been successful in the areas of sports equipment & electronic consumer
products [14].
2.2 Applications of SSM
2.2.1 Aluminium-Copper Base Alloys (A201)

Fuel rising market prices and new environmental laws has resulted in a new drive towards
lighter and more efficient vehicles providing impetus for possible SSM applications for
aluminium parts in the automotive industry.
Alloy 201 (Al-4.6Cu-0.7Ag-0.35Mn-0.35Mg-0.25Ti, wt%) [15] is a very competitive material
developed for high mechanical properties, excellent machinability and can survive elevated
temperatures as well as increase damage tolerance through better toughness. Table 1 illustrates
the mechanical properties covered by the American Aerospace Material Specification AMS
4229 [15].

Table 1: Mechanical properties of A201 demonstrated by AMS.
0.2% Proof Stress/
MPa
Tensile Strength/
MPa
Elongation/ %
Separately Cast Specimen 345 414 3
Designated Casting areas 345 414 3
Non-designated casting areas 331 386 1.5

[Courtesy of Casting Technology International][16]

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This particular material has a high response to age hardening due to its main precipitate
phase. The addition of silver in the material considerably changes the precipitation process,
causing orthorhombic form of the tetragonal phase (Al
2
Cu) to precipitate as very thin,
coherent plates on the matrix planes rather than plane [15-17]. Aluminium alloy
has a known binary eutectic system upon solidification as shown in Figure 2.2.1. This eutectic
reaction occurs during its non-equilibrium solidification phase nonetheless it could be removed
after the homogenisation of the solute content (heated to a temperature below the eutectic
temperature and held for a long time sometimes as much as 24hrs).

Figure 2.2.1(a) & (b) shows alloys with composition (along line bold line) comprising the
eutectic structure which constitutes layers of and phases. Higher eutectic composition in the
alloy indicates significant amount of eutectic it contains. While the alloys on the right from
point O mixture of and the eutectic grains.












2.3 Rheocasting Processes

Several processes for creating non-dendritic structures from liquid alloy have been developed.
Mechanical stirring was the first method employed by SPENCER and FLEMINGS during their
discovery of the non-dendritic structure [19]. More recently a new method was devised known
as SLC

as mentioned in section 2.1. In the new rheocasting process, liquid aluminium alloy is
poured into a cooler steel cup at a temperature just above its liquidus. The interaction between
the melt and cold cup results in the formation of many solid particles. Heat extraction is
controlled to cool the volume of metal homogeneously. However, pouring at low temperature
Figure 2.2.1(a): General Phase Diagram [18] Figure 2.2.1(b): Eutectic composition of
alloys. [18]

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such as SLC

has some disadvantages and a thermally conductive device must be utilized to

drop the bulk temperature from the entire volume of metal but able to withstand prolonged
contact with liquid aluminium [19-21].

SSR

process is more effective compared to SLC

whereby a cool rotating rod is immersed

into the melt during its solidification stage. Hence, this cools the melt rapidly at localized region
when providing vigorous agitation due to continuous stir and drops the bulk temperature of the
melt below the liquidus. Metal slurry could be easily created from liquid metal at varied
temperatures by the SSR

process making it the most effective method to produce aluminium

alloy slurries [12-20-21]. Figure 2.3 shows the three basic steps in the rheocasting process.












2.4 Structural Evolution during Rheocasting
2.4.1 Grain Density

In rheocast alloy, the grain density is significantly higher as compared to that in conventional
castings due to a process of dendrite fragmentation and subsequent ripening as required for a
non-dendritic structure to form. The current theory concerning the evolution of a spheroidal
microstructure was reviewed by Flemings, who considers the process to be dependent on the
formation of tiny equiaxed dendrites or dendrite fragments in liquid phase just before
solidification. In order to reduce porosity in the melt, the higher the grain density in the initial
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
Figure 2.3: Schematic of three basic steps in SSR process.

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melt, i.e. the more and smaller the initial grains are, the higher the chance of reducing porosity
for a given increase in solid fraction. With the bulk of grains remaining small, diffusion lengths
for ripening are also small and hence promote rapid growth of spheroidal particles. Vice-versa
for larger grains, the diffusion length is equally larger and the dendrites will require more time
to breakdown into rosettes and later into a spheroids [20-21].
2.4.2 Convection

Grain refinement in all rheocasting processes is obtained through convection during the process
from the star of solidification. This creates a high density of grains throughout the melt. An
experiment was performed by BOWER and FLEMINGS [22] showing that if convection is
introduced during solidification, a structure with multiple smaller grains will form. The
experiment concludes that if the metal is fed into the mould at high temperature, the formation
of large dendrites would be observed on the surface of the samples and if the metal was fed
with significantly less superheat, multiple sites of fine dendrites are formed. Coarse grains
would be the final outcome if convection is not employed during the process. In the case of a
metal slurry with less superheat, the slurry already starts to nucleate at early stages before the
tip of the stirrer is introduced and engaged into the melt dispersing fine globular grains
throughout the casting [21-22].
2.4.3 Dendrite Fragmentation

A more advanced study was done within the field of dendrite fragmentation by ESAKA et al
[23] who recorded images of particles being generated in the mushy zone of the stirred melt.
The experimentation of ESAKA et al showed that the number of particles generated, and the
rate of generation is simultaneously augmented when stirring rate intensifies [21-23]. Martinez
and Flemings showed that if vigorous convection is applied to a melt during its solidification
state, non-dendritic structures are rapidly formed. Further hypotheses were made by Vogel et
al. and Doherty et al [24]. that bending of dendrite arms arises due to shear forces and leads to
from high-angle grain boundaries at the roots of the dendrite arms, thereby increasing energy at
the root [21-22]. Kattamis et al [25] proposed a coarsening model in which the degeneration of
dendrite arms has a direct link with its arm spacing, where the dendrite arm spacing is
responsible for the rate at which the dendrite arms breakdown [21]. This coarsening mechanism

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proves to be a potential form of multiplication of grains as each detached arm is swept by
convection into the volumetric melt.
2.4.4 Particle Stability

Particle stability plays a vital role when filling the mould cavities in casting. In order to ensure
proper filling of moulds by the metal slurry, we try to maintain small size of near-spheroid
structure of the solid particles during the mould filling operation. In cases where the in-gates
and runners are cooler than the slurry, upon contact, the metal slurry will cool relatively quickly
creating an unstable condition that might result in microstructural effects such as generation of
coarser grains, entrapment of air or oxide and other impurities, hence increasing the probability
of reduced mechanical properties. Therefore, understanding the conditions which maintain
interface stability in rheocast processing is critical [21].
2.4.5 Fluidity of Rheocast Alloy


In the foundry world, fluidity is defined as the length that metal will flow down a channel
before being stopped by solidification. The correlation between the melt flow and
microstructure makes the fluidity test a vital aspect of the rheocast process.
Ragone [26] was the first to perform an arithmetical analysis of the fluidity of pure liquid
metals. During his experiments he observed that the flow of the molten metal entering the sprue
was turbulent due to a difference in pressure. The analysis accounted for frictional losses and
used Bernoullis equation to predict the length the metal would flow before solidifying but
neglected surface tension and viscosity changes [21-26].
Another researcher, Niesse [21-27], extended the work of Ragone and found that adding
small amounts of alloying elements retards the fluidity due to a larger driving force creating less
mobility. Flemings reflecting on these facts concluded that alloying elements generate a
retarding force during the early stages of nucleation resulting in the formation of dendrites in
the liquid state which eventually strive to hinder the rapid flow. Smaller grain size delays
dendrite entanglement and eases the flow of the alloy further until a higher degree of
solidification is reached. Kwon and Lee [28] showed that the fluidity of grain refined Al-Cu
alloy is much greater than non-refined alloy. At temperature above the liquidus, alloy fluidity

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was found to decrease with decreasing temperature. It involves a direct relationship that dictates
the increase in solid content in such a way that fluidity of the non-dendritic slurry continued to
decrease with decreasing temperature occurring below the liquidus temperature [21-22-28].



























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3. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES

3.1 Experimental Setup

The main aspect of the experimental setup was to probe in the evolution of the microstructure
as well as the flow behaviour of the aluminium alloy A201. Figure 3.1.1 illustrates the
apparatus utilized during the experiment. In a similar way to the typical rheocast process, the
process has three main components: an open resistance furnace holding the melt, a rotating
copper rod operating at 110rpm (1
st
Experiment), a rotating stainless steel rod operating at
110rpm (2
nd
Experiment), and a preheated mould stacked in sand acting as a source of
insulation. The stirrer rod is mounted in a hand drill acting as the mechanical stirrer. The probe
tip of the thermocouple is immersed in the molten metal to record the evolving temperature.
3.2 Stirring Rod
The copper stirrer was 8 mm in diameter and 200 mm long, with a rounded end. The rod utilized
for the 2
nd
experiment was stainless steel with 15 mm diameter and 450mm long. The stirrer
rods were at room temperature (between 22
0
C and 30
0
C) before being immersed into the melt.
3.3 Microstructures
In this experiment, during solidification, the dendritic structure was subjected to shear forces
due to convection prompted to rip the dendrites into rosettes and later into a larger number of
spheroidal particles. Figure 3.1.2 below shows the breakoff process from rosette to fine
spheroids. Final spheroidal particles containing entrapped eutectic arise due to the ripening
process of rosette arms whereby liquid is entrapped in between those arms.
3.4 Hydrostatic Weighing
The hydrostatic weighing also known as hydro-densitometry is based on the Archimedes
principle. First the dry weight is determined by hanging the sample freely in air as shown in
Figure 3.5.1. After recording the weight in air, the specimen is then immersed in water without
touching the sides or bottom of the beaker, expels all the bubbles that might arise due to
porosity, the underwater weight is recorded.

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3.5 Heat Treatment
For the semi-solid rheocast (SSR) A201 alloy specimens, conventional T6 heat treatment 2 h at
513
0
C was employed, followed by 17 h at 527
0
C solution treatment, followed by water
quenching and then a 20 h at 153
0
C ageing period, shown schematically in Figure 3.5 [16].













3.6 Tensile Testing
Specimens, after heat treatment, were machined to specific sizes as shown in Figure 3.6.2, for
tensile testing. The tests method covers the tensile testing of rheocast alloys carried out on the
Hounsfield H100KS material testing machine shown in Figure 3.6.1. The specimens are
gripped by wedge grips at the two extremities and then test parameters were inputted from a
computer. Cross speed was 3 mm/min, and the gauge length was set to 68 mm. Ultimate tensile
strength and elongations to fracture values were obtained. Macroscopic photographs of the
fracture surfaces were taken to observe and relate any factors that may have influenced the poor
mechanical behaviour of these alloys.
3.7 Metallographic Etchants

After preparation of the A201 specimens, obtained from the 1
st
, 2
nd
and 3
rd
experiments,
etchants shown in Table 2, were used to reveal the various regions of the resulting
microstructures.

2 h
513
0
C
527
0
C
17 h
153
0
C
20 h
Figure 3.5: Schematic of heat treatment stages.

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3. EXPERIMENTAL FIGURES
3.1.1) Experimental Setup










































Copper/
Stainless Steel
Stirring Rod
Ceramic
Crucible
Aluminium
Alloy A201
Thermocouple
Protective
Sheath
With Grounded
tip
Electric hand
drill operating at
110rpm
Figure 3.1.1: Schematic of equipment Setup and built for this study.
Figure 3.1.2: Evolution of structure during solidification with vigorous agitation [20].
Increasing
Shear Rate
Increasing
time
Initial Dendrite Structure
Dendrite Growth
Rosette
Ripened Rosette
Spheroid

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3.2.1) Conventional & SSR Experiment 1













































Figure 3.2.1: Aluminium alloy sand casting process at different pouring temperatures.
(a) 930
0
C Conventional Cast Temperature
(b) 830
0
C SSR Cast Temperature
(c) 730
0
C SSR Cast Temperature

(a) (b) (c)
Figure 3.2.2: Final product from the 1
st
Experiment from conventional to
rheocast casts respectively.
(a) Conventional Cast Product (b) 830
0
C SSR Product
(b) 730
0
C SSR Product

Copper Stirrer Rod
(a)
(b)
(c)

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3.3.1) SSR Experiment 2













































Figure 3.3.1: Semi- solid Rheocasting die cast at two distinct temperatures.
(Pouring temperature 700
0
C)

(a) SSR Cast at 700
0
C (b) SSR Cast at 670
0
C

(a)
(b)
(a)
(b)
Figure 3.3.2: SSR final product at different temperatures..
(Pouring temperature 700
0
C)

(b) SSR product at 700
0
C (b) SSR product at 670
0
C


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3.4.1) SSR Experiment 3













































Figure 3.3.2: Samples after heat treatment (T6) and machined to
specification for tensile testing.
Number of samples: 24

Figure 3.3.2: Semi-solid rheocast of 3
rd
experiment employing different
stir techniques.
(Pouring temperature at 670
0
C)


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3.5.1) Hydrostatic Machine





















3.6.1) Tensile Testing Machine























Mass
immersed in
H
2
O
Lid to avoid
disturbance
Mass
hanging
freely
Scale
Analogue
Reader
Figure 3.6.1: Schematic illustrating Mechanical test system [31].

Figure 3.5.1: Schematic illustrating the hydrostatic weighing apparatus.


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3.5.1) Metallographic Etchants
3.5.1.1 Aluminium and Aluminium Alloys

CAUTION: Beware of when handling potential hazardous chemicals. Be sure to wear
appropriate clothing and adhere to all warnings on chemical manufacturers. Safety is vital when
etching.

Table 2: Etchants applied to reveal the microstructures of A201.0 alloy.
3.5.1.2 PREPARATION OF ALUMINUM ALLOYS

PREPARATION OF A201.0 SPECIMENS

Grind with 240-grit, 800-grit, 1200-grit 2000-grit and 4000-grti SiC water-cooled paper,
250rpm applying 3lbs per specimen.
Polish with 6-m Diamond (oil based recommended) on ultra-pol (silk) cloth at 250
rpm, using a force of 3lbs/specimen for 5 minutes each (counter rotation).
Polish with 1-m Diamond (oil based recommended) on ultra-pol (silk) cloth at 250
rpm, using a force of 3lbs/specimen for 3 minutes each (counter rotation).
Finish with Silico (50% silica and 50% water mix) on micro (cashmere) cloth at 250
rpm, using a force of 5lbs/specimen, 3 minutes (counter rotation).
Etchant Concentration
Mixtures
Conditions Comments
Barkers Etch
Distilled Water
Hydrofluoric acid

200 ml
5 ml
Anodize for 40~80s at 20
V dc.
Display dendrites well and
widely used for wrought
alloys
Nitric Acid
Distilled Water
Hydrochloric acid
100 ml
20 ml
3 ml
30-45 seconds
immersion. Add 3ml of
HCl after each dip.
Cast Al-Cu alloys. Over
etching might blemish the
microstructures.
8
7
92
12 12 68
2
Figure 3.6.2: Dimensions of specimen for tensile testing in millimetres (mm).


~19~

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Microstructures of 1
st
Experiment
4.1.1 Microstructures of Conventional Castings

The results of this study consist of three set of experiments. The first set comprises of both
conventional sand and semi-solid rheocasting (SSR) with the remaining three sets of casts being
Semi-Solidly Rheocast at different agitation times. Figure 4.1.1shows the microstructures for
the first set of conventional sand casting of A201 at a pouring temperature of 930
0
C. As
anticipated, Figure 4.1.1(a) shows the microstructure of a conventional-cast alloy, with large
dendrites and coarsely spaced arms. The dendrites are surrounded by eutectic composition
which appears as darker lines in the micrographs. As a result of conventional casting, shrinkage
macro-porosity is also apparent at the cross section of the sample. The intermetallic Al
2
Cu
phase believed to be present in the conventional cast sample can also be seen in Figure 4.1.2,
appearing as dark under the Polyvar microscope as shown in Figure 4.1.4.

Grains, after conventional solidification casting, shows that coarse dendrite spaced arms are
predominant. As shown in Figure 4.1.3(a), the microstructure of the conventional cast at a high
temperature has a coarse eutectic structure. This takes place when the solidification follows the
non-equilibrium phase cooling system. Due to the high pouring temperature, the poured
temperature is directly proportional to the bulk free energy and the relationship of bulk free
energy is inversely proportional to the activation energy. Due to low activation energy, the
liquidus starts nucleating faster, speeding up the solidification process due to the high driving
force (rapid cooling rates).

The schematic below shows the relationship of nucleation rate as a dependant factor of the
pouring temperature.





~20~










4.1.2 Microstructure of SSR Castings

Based on the analysis of the conventional castings, in order to reduce the chances of porosity
occurring, low pouring temperatures should be exploited. Figure 4.1.1(b) and (c) shows the
reduction in microstructural defects, i.e. less porosity and finer structures. The current focus of
rheocasting is on forming semi-solid slurries containing high fractions solid. The process
includes mechanical stirring. Initially a copper stirrer was utilized but during extended contact
with the hot molten metal the copper stirrer partially melted at high temperatures. This
technique uses different media to apply the agitation to the melt. Upon contact with the slurry,
due to convection and agitation from the stirrer, dendrite arms caused to be detached by
breaking off. Nonetheless, the nucleation driving force was too high, during 830
0
C and 730
0
C,
in order to create multiple spheroidal structures because of the rapid nucleation rate. Table 3
demonstrates the poured temperature drop after conventional casting, followed by the SSR casts
that were stirred for 40s each, before being poured into the mould cavities.

Type of Cast Pouring
Temperature/
0
C
Stirring
Time/s
Type of Stirrer Microstructures
Analysis
Conventional
Casting
930 0 Nil Coarse Dendrites
SSR 830 40 Copper Much Finer Dendrites
SSR 730 40 Copper
Dendrite
Fragmentation forming
few globular grains

As ,
Table 3: 1st Set of Experimental data.
Time to form N Nuclei, t=N/I
C-Curve Kinetics
High driving force
Low mobility
Low driving force
High mobility
T
f

T
E
M
P
E
R
A
T
U
R
E

~21~

4.2 Microstructures of 2
nd
Experiment

4.2.1 Microstructures of SSR Castings

Figure 4.2.1 illustrates finer microstructures compared to the 1
st
set of experiments. As a result
of less superheat and more agitation for approximately 3 to 4 minutes, finer grains with a
reduction of pores size were obtained. For melt with less superheat and longer vigorous
agitation to the slurry during nucleation, the convection process forces the dendrite arms found
at early stages of the alloy to create multiple sites of disintegrated solid particles and fine
dendrites. Furthermore, high metal temperatures will accentuate shrinkage problems and
increase the porosity sites.

The micrographs of AA201 alloy show that the microstructure consists of a mixture of globular,
rosette, and fine dendrite particles at the final stages of the rheocasting process as shown in
Figure 4.2.5. These globular and the rosette particles are believed to be the disintegrated
particles resulting from the dendrite fragmentation due to the stirrer mechanism. This
mechanism explains that the bulk liquid still consists of several small pools of superheated
liquid. At early stages, as shown in Figure 4.2.4 (b, c), at 700
0
C during the first pour, only few
disintegrated particles survived from the dendritic fragmentation. The instance the slurry
attained 670
0
C after a uniform stir of 3~4 minutes, formation of more disintegrated particles
were observed at lower temperature with longer times of agitation applied as shown in Figure
4.2.4 (e, f). The growth of the fine spheroid and dendrite particles eventually coarsen to yield to
a mixed globular and fine dendritic structure, nevertheless, at times the castings still cracked at
even lower temperatures.

To obtain an effective dispersion of fine globular grains when adopting rheocasting, both time
and temperature plays a critical role in this process. The time during agitation should be
sufficient enough to bring down the temperature and hence augmenting the solid fraction of the
slurry.



~22~

4.2.2 Evaluation of SSR Casting Particles


Figure 4.2.7(a) served to evaluate the important data associated with particles, such as solid
fraction, particle density, and particles shape factor and particles distribution. The data were
obtained from Image J processing software.
4.2.2.1 Total Number of Particles

In this analysis, the number of particles (N) is defined by:

Where A
T
is the total analysed area of the micrographs and A
P
is the area of an average solid
particles.

Total Area of micrographs, A
T
is:
Total Area of particles, A
P
is:

No. of particles over the analysed surface is 3725.
4.2.2.2 Particle Size

Assuming the shape of the particles are circular and analysis carried out under 2D condition, the
particle size (d) for each primary particle is given by:

Where, A
P
is the area of an average solid particle.

The diameter of the particles were calculated from an average diameter of particles varying
from 14~23 m in diameter.
Hence, particle size (d) is .

~23~

4.2.2.3 Solid Fraction

The solid fraction (f
s
) is determined from the image analysis by the following equation:
[32]



The solid fraction (f
s
) of the AA201.0 alloy is 84.9%.
4.2.2.4 Particle Shape Factor

The shape factor (F) of a particle is defined by:

Where P is the perimeter is by: assuming it a perfectly shaped circle. For F=1signifies that
the particle is a perfect circle and if F<1, the particle has a more complex shape [32].
As given from the parameters above,

Therefore some of the particles have more complex shape since F=0.745 and others are fully
formed spheroidal particles as shown in Figure 4.2.7.2.
4.3 Microstructures of 3
rd
Experiment
4.3.1 Microstructures of SSR Castings

In this experiment, convection was not effective and resulted in an increase in porosity over the
surface section analysed. Compared to the second experiment, it has been observed that
vigorous convection is believed to cause grain multiplication, resulting in a large number of fine
disintegrated solid particles. Figure 4.3.1 gives a clear view to the multiplication of
microstructural defects due to insufficient timing for convection. For successful castings and
good mechanical properties, removal of voids is imperative, since their presence in the material
will decrease the mechanical properties resulting into premature failure. Under the same set of

~24~

conditions, this experiment also entails a heat treatment process at T6 with the purpose to
provide information about the contrasting microstructure and properties.
4.3.2 SSR Recrystallization Behaviour (T6 Heat-Treatment)

Figure 4.3.2.1 shows the considerable reduction of the shrinkage porosity during 670
0
C with
the formation of a more desirable spheroidal microstructure which was obtained during
isothermal heating. At earlier stages, due to lack of convection at 658
0
C, the size of the pores
was reduced to some extent, nonetheless not sufficiently to avoid poor mechanical properties.
During the T6 treatment, extensive recrystallization occurred and more or less a fine equiaxed
spheroidal microstructure was obtained at 670
0
C compared to the early stages where the grains
were more dendritic. Figure 4.3.2.2 shows the evolution in the microstructures converging to
more disintegrated particles Figure 4.3.2.2(c) but with two long dendrites also seen on the
surface. During the period of recrystallization, the formation of globules were fine, instead of
coarsened, with micro holes shown in the micrographs at 670
0
C. Consequently the
microstructures at 670
0
C should result to a better strength of the material rather than the second
condition 658
0
C consisting of larger holes.
4.4 Relative Densities Evaluation

The evaluation fromTable 3 and Figure 4.4.1 clearly shows that the relative density/ reduction
in porosity and other defects will tend to yield to an increase in yield strength of the material.
As anticipated at early stages, the microstructures and any reduction in defects shall dictate the
mechanical properties. Referring to section 4.1.1, the outcome from conventional casting
resulted into massive shrinkage porosity and thus holds a much lower density in contrast to
other cast temperatures. The two ideal cases were from 2
nd
and 3
rd
(with or without Heat
Treatment) experiments whereby due to the application of convection to the metal slurry during
solidification, the vigorous agitation not only created fine grain particles but also reduced to
abundant number of porosity into the material. The data evidently display the ideal temperature
700
0
C for processing the slurry in its semi-solid state resulting in a fine dispersion of stabilised
particles with reduced defects. The relative density of the casts was determined from the
following formula:


~25~

4.5 Mechanical Properties of SSR Castings

Section 4.5 (Figures 4.5.1, 4.5.2 & 4.5.3) shows the average tensile values of the A201.0 alloy
in normal rheocast and T6 temper conditions. Figure 4.5.6 features the maximum elongation
from specimens that performed to their optimum level. The data clearly shows that the tensile
properties decrease with increasing amount of shrinkage porosity, non-metallic inclusions,
formation of oxides and turbulent flow at feeding gates. It is difficult to produce good
mechanical properties as so many factors affect the metallurgical integrity of the castings.
Figure 3.3.2 exhibited a crack, caused by residual stresses induced during contraction.
This study proved that the more refined spheroidal grain structures clearly govern the
mechanical properties whilst heat treatment T6 modifies the structures, e.g. 3
rd
experiment,
consequently resulting in better properties when compared to the 2
nd
Experiment. The
maximum UTS were achieved at 278MPa at 670
0
C-T6 with an elongation of 10% which is an
improvement due to less porosity and other inclusions. Micro-cracking occurred during tensile
testing of Al-Cu alloy samples at lower temperatures accounting both experiments (700
0
C,
670
0
C, 658
0
C-T6) showed a rather poor elongation to fracture marking a reduction in ductility.
Conversely, 670
0
C-T6 specimens demonstrates a varied elongation to fracture amid 1.7%-10%
which gives hope for improving the mechanical properties of the alloy through refinements in
the manufacturing methodology adapted in the future. It can be seen that a variety of unwanted
inclusions, created at the point of manufacture, are damaging the mechanical properties. Figure
4.6.1 and Figure 4.6.2, illustrates how surface turbulence leads to the creation of oxide
inclusions and shrinkage porosity defects. With the lack of a proper gating system it will
eventually have an impact on the metallurgical integrity.
In this case, the macroscopic images revealed defects such as sand and dross inclusions
in the alloy due to the vigorous manual agitation in the crucible. With inappropriate gating,
flaws such as entrapped gases, localised shrinkage, micro-porosity and cracks were generated.
As a result of those factors, the ultimate tensile strengths and elongations are typically lower
than expected and ductility was reduced by the presence of such inclusions. Demands for
improved metallurgical integrity have emerged and recognised improvements shall be sought
with manufacturing refinements.



~26~

4. FIGURES OF A201.0 ALLOY

4.1.1) AA201.0 Alloy Conventional Sand Casting







(a) (b)
(c)
Figure 4.1.1: Optical Microstructure of Conventional Sand Casting of AA201.0

(a) Conventional Sand Casting at 930
0
C
(b) Semi-Solid Rheocasting(SSR) at 830
0
C
(c) Semi- Solid Rheocasting(SSR) at 730
0
C
200m 200m
200m

~27~

4.1.2) Optical Microstructures at higher resolution




































200m 200m
200m 200m
200m 500m
Figure 4.1.2: Microstructure breakdown from coarse dendrite to much finer dendrite
via conventional sand casting of AA201 alloy. (Pouring temperature 930
0
)
a) 930
0
C centre, riser sample b) 930
0
C perimeter, riser sample

c) 830
0
C centre, riser sample d) 830
0
C perimeter, riser sample

e) 730
0
C centre, riser sample f) 730
0
C perimeter, riser sample

(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e) (f)

~28~

4.1.3) Conventional Sand Castings and SSR (Rheocasting)

Three moulds were used at pouring temperatures of 930
0
C, 830
0
C, and 730
0
C respectively. Due
to the degree of high pouring temperature and the manual methodology employed for pouring
the molten metal, turbulent flow resulted as the slurry was poured into the cavity. The result of
reducing temperatures during casting and stirring while doing so, has been an observed drastic
reduction in terms of porosity, vacancy and other defects as shown below.



























200m 200m 200m
(a) 930
0
C Conventional
Sand Casting
(b) 830
0
C SSR Casting (c) 730
0
C SSR Casting
Figure 4.1.3: Reduction of crystal defects as grain coarsening temperature
decreases exponentially with the cooling rates.
Figure 4.1.4: Formation of coarse dendritic structure near holes of the
conventional cast sample (930
0
C).
When subjected to solidification, since the
temperature drops from 930
0
C and follows a
non-equilibrium phase it results in eutectic
formation. Since composition of melt is
aluminium rich, it crystallizes first as the
temperature continue to drop. The
combination of the liquidus and solidus
forms an intermetallic compound at below
the A1 temperature, hence is
formed.

The solidification near the holes consists of
coarse dendritic microstructures
(conventional casting). Dendritic
microstructures could be broken into a huge
number of fine disintegrated particles when
adapting the convection process.
AA201.0 Coarse Dentritic mircostructure Conventional Cast

~29~

4.2.1) Semi-Solid Rheocasting (SSR)

This section consists of the semi-solid rheocasting results whereby metal-moulds and a stainless
stirrer were utilized. The metal-moulds were preheated and stacked in a sand pit, acting as an
insulator preventing heat losses when the molten metal is poured. A stainless steel stirrer was
utilized in order to avoid any possibility of melting and resulting change in the casting
composition of the alloy. Pouring was carried out after stirring the melt for 3 minutes, at 700
0
C
and 670
0
C respectively.





























50m 50m
Figure 4.2.1: Optical Microstructure of SSR casting at 700
0
and 670
0
respectively.
(Corresponding Pour temperature at 700
0
and 670
0
after agitation of 3~4 minutes each)

a) 700
0
C centre, bottom section (Fine Dendritic Grain Boundaries with near
definite globular grains)
b) 670
0
C centre, bottom section ( Much Finer Dendrites attached with multiple
breakoff particles, spheroidal grains)
(a) (b)
Figure 4.2.2: SSR Cast Sample at 700
0
C,
stirred for 3 minutes
Figure 4.2.3: SSR Cast Sample at 670
0
C,
stirred for 3 minutes

~30~


































50m 200m
50m
200m
200m
(a) (b) (c)
(f) (e) (d)
Figure 4.2.4: AA201.0 Microstructure across and along the plane as well as the top
and bottom of the samples.

(Pouring temperature 700
0
C (a, b, c) and 670
0
C (d, e, f))

Grains Size reduces from fine dendrite to more single globular
particles at 700
0
C
Grains Size reduces from finer dendrite to multiple globular particles
at 670
0
C
200m

~31~















































100m
(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 4.2.5: Different types of particles formed during nucleation of the AA201.0
alloy (SSR casting process).
(Pouring temperature 670
0
C)
(a) Formation of rosette
(b) Formation of fine dendrite
(c) Formation of globular particles

50m
100m
(a) (b)
Figure 4.2.6: Representative of micrographs of SSR at 670
0
C stirred for 3 minutes
(Pouring temperature 670
0
C)

(a) Illustration of multiple spheroidal sites after nucleation

(b) Analytical/mathematical calculations of grain diameter


~32~

(a)
(b)
4.2.7) METALLOGRAPHY ANALYSIS












































Figure 4.2.7.1: Representative of metallography evaluation.

(a) Unmask Contours of grain structure used for grain size evaluation.

(b) Focus on the formation of near net shaped globular structures.
Figure 4.2.7.2: Graphical representation of perfectly shaped particles.

~33~

4.3.1) Semi-Solid Rheocasting (SSR)

This set of experiments dwells on the SSR (semi-solid rheocasting) process with700
0
C as the
commencing temperature for stirring, with a stainless steel stirring the melt for 45s and then
pouring the resulting slurry into two preheated metal moulds. Preheated moulds were utilized to
avoid impurities, such as sand inclusions and stacked in a sand pit to avoid heat losses. The
final temperature recorded prior to pouring was 658
0
C, lower than the previous experiment.




































From 670
0
C to 658
0
C Stirred once for 45s.
50m 50m
(a) (b)
Figure 4.3.1: Representative of micrographs of SSR at 700
0
C stirred for 45 seconds.
(Pouring temperature 670
0
C and 658
0
C respectively)

(a) Fine dendrite with few vacancy sites.

(b) Dendrite Fragmentation into spheroidal grains with huge porosity sites.
Figure 4.3.2: SSR Cast Sample at 700
0
C,
45s stir. Tem
p
=670
0
C
Figure 4.3.3: SSR Cast Sample at 658
0
C.


~34~

(e)
(c)
Bottom
Top
(d)











































(a) (b)
Top
Bottom
(a) (b)
(c) (c)
(e)
Figure 4.3.3: SSR Cast Sample at 670
0
C and 658
0
C
Stirred for 45s once.

(a) 670
0
C top section (b) 670
0
C bottom section
(c) 658
0
C top section (d) 658
0
C cross section
(e) 658
0
C cross section

100m
200m
200m 100m
100m

~35~

(a) (d)
(b)
(c)
(e)
(f)
4.3.2) Recrystallization Behaviour of SSR
4.3.2.1 SSR Microstructures at T6 Conditions












































Figure 4.3.2.1: T6 SSR Microstructure at 670
0
C and 658
0
C Stirred for 45s once.


A201.0-T6/ 670
0
C A201.0-T6/ 658
0
C


100m 100m
200m 200m
100m 200m

~36~

Cross
Section














































(a) (b)
(c) (d)
200m 200m
200m 200m
Figure 4.3.2.2: Recrystallization Effects reflecting on the grain boundaries at 670
0
C and 658
0
C
respectively.

(a) 670
0
C Bottom Section Sample (b) 670
0
C Perimeter of Cross Section
(c) 670
0
C Long Dendrite at Bottom Area (d) 658
0
C Bottom of Sample

Figure 4.3.2.3: 670
0
C SSR AT T6 Sample


Figure 4.3.2.4: 658
0
C SSR AT T6 Sample


Bottom
Bottom

~37~

(b)
(a)
At Grain coarsening
temperature Al
consume Cu
Saturated solution of
copper in alloy.Active
kinetic particles.
(a)
(b)
(c)













































Figure 4.3.2.5: Micrographs represent the effects of heat treatment at pouring temperature of
670
0
C.
(a) Coarse Dendritic Microstructures at 670
0
C
(b) Finer Dendrite and Spheroidal Particles after heat treatment (T6).

Simulated Normal Grain
Coarsening

TP= 670
0
C Coarse Dendrite Microstructures
Porosity
100m
Simulated Abnormal Grain
Coarsening

TP= 670
0
C/T6 Finer Dendrite and Spheroidal Particles
Drastic Reduction InPorosity
100m

~38~

4.4) POROSITY EVALUATION

Section 4.1 (Figures) onwards illustrates the microstructures evolution as well as differentiate
the series of shrinkage porosity and sizes from distinct experiment at specific temperatures.

Table 3: Illustration of density relative to the porosity of the cast specimens.























Experiment Cast
Temperature/
0
C
W
air
/g W
water
/g Density/gcm
-3


1

930 30 18 1.6
830 27 15 1.8
730 23 11 2.1
2
700 7 3.5 2
670 6 2.5 2.4
3
670 4 2 2
658 5 3 1.6
Figure 4.4.1: Contrast in porosity reduction at distinct pouring
temperatures.
Schematic of porosity
reduction [33].

~39~

4.5) MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Figure 4.5.1 represents a simulated model from Ansys 13.0v, displaying the stress variation
when the specimens were subjected to tensile deformation load. The maximum stress
concentration is located round the round of the shank. Previous studies have revealed that
A201.0 has allowable UTS of 485MPa with 7% elongation [26-27].






































Figure 4.5.1: Specimen Behaviour under Deformation Load.
Figure 4.5.2: SSR Cast Specimens under 2
nd
Experiment Configuration.

~40~















































Figure 4.5.3: Heat Treated SSR Samples at pouring temperature 670
0
C
following the 3
rd
Experiment configuration.
Figure 4.5.4: Heat Treated SSR Samples at pouring temperature 658
0
C
following the 3
rd
Experiment configuration.

~41~















































Figure 4.5.5: Bar Chart Representation of Experiment 2 Maximum Tensile Strength at
distinct rheocast temperatures.
Figure 4.5.6: Elongation of samples cast at different
configurations (2
nd
& 3
rd
Experiments). Pie Chart displays
max UTS and Elongation.
Figure 4.5.7: SSR Heat Treated Samples Mechanical Properties Relative with Varied
Cast Temperatures 700
0
C and 658
0
C respectively.

~42~

4.6) MACROSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHS

Macroscopic defects found at 670
0
C are shown below.











































Regions of
micro pores
(a)
Figure 4.6.1: Defects from pouring temperature of 670
0
C-T6.
(a) Micro Pores throughout the casts
(b) Layer of impurities at the edge
(b)
Regions of
oxides or other
impurities
Micro holes are
located
throughout the
specimen
8mm
MACRO SCALE

~43~

Macroscopic defects found at 658
0
C are shown below.











































Shrinkage Porosity
Non- metallic
inclusions and oxides
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Oxides, non-metallic
inclusions and porosity
leading to poor
mechanical properties.
Regions of
localized Shrinkage
Porosity
Figure 4.6.2: Defects from 658
0
C-T6 leading to poor mechanical properties.
(a), (b), (c) and (d) shows different defects influencing the metallurgical integrity.

~44~

5. CONCLUSIONS


Summary of Findings:

5.1 This research reveals the important aspects that influence the formation of globular
structures during the rheocast process. Unique experiments were setup to observe the
evolution of those structures in the semi-solid condition. They show how time and
temperature, at which the alloy is processed, are vital for an initial equiaxed grain to
ripen sufficiently into a spheroidal one. The unique aspect of this study is how vigorous
agitation potentially changed the initial microstructures of A201 from dendrite to
partially non-dendritic structures during its solidification stage.

5.2 The experimental setup comprised of a furnace, stirring rod (Copper/Stainless Steel),
and preheated. Convection was then applied to the low superheat melt during rapid
solidification of A201 alloy creating stable spheroid and fine dendrite arms. This
signifies the importance of vigorous agitation for the globule formation.

5.3 Evaluation of micrographs shows spheroid particles roughly varying from 14~20 m in
diameter. The equiaxed dendrites ripened into spheroids with entrapped eutectic during
the period of recrystallization. Metallography revealed a small quantity of near-
spheroidal particles (shape factor near to 1) followed with the fine dendritic arms.

5.4 Different rheocasting approached were implemented during this study. With the
application of convection to induce solidification during rapid cooling of the A201
alloy proving to be essential in increasing the density of the alloy.

5.5 The results of the rheocasting process clearly indicate that the mechanism for reducing
porosity in the alloy depends on temperature, convection, as if the initial particle
density in the metal slurry is large and dendritic, ripening shall occur rapidly into
spheroids/ fine dendrite arms with micro holes. Nonetheless, if the particle density is

~45~

low and convention is retained, ripening will result in the growth of dendritic particles
with large porosity with entrapped eutectic in the final structure.

5.6 Self-improvised etchants based around Barkers Etch allowed metallographic of
resulting microstructures.

5.7 Standard heat treatment T6 procedure showed improvement, both in terms of the
evolution of the grain structures alongside with the mechanical properties. The tensile
properties of different rheocast conditions showed wide variation in properties with
some reasonably good results together with some low and irregular ones.

5.8 Good elongation to fracture was obtained from SSR specimen at 670
0
C-T6 with an
elongation of 10% with a tensile strength of 278 MPa. Several defects contributed to
the behaviour of the SSR by adversely affecting the metallurgical integrity of the cast
alloys and ways of reducing their incidence have been proposed.
Suggested Further Work

The following is a list of ways to continue this investigation:

Repeating the rheocasting process at different suggested times at 700
0
C (if considering
the usage of two moulds during each experiment): 45s (between each feed), 1 minute
(between each feed) and 3~5 minutes at 700
0
C only one feed to the mould. Observation
of the grain structures should indicate the progress before heat treatment of the samples.

A good gating system should be considered next time if casting scrap is to be minimised
and metallurgical integrity improved. A filter should be utilized to physically trap the
non-metallic inclusions but then should be used up to temperatures not less than 650
0
C
to avoid the possibility of blockage during the pour.

A pouring basin should be considered since the initialflow from the crucible was
turbulent. A hole from the basin shall impede the turbulent flow at a certain height
allowing the slurry to stabilise at that point of time. Those aspects should hinder any sort

~46~

of defects to the microstructure and eventually obtain better properties compared to this
study.

It was not possible to record the cooling rates in between the normal solidification and
induced solidification. Determining the cooling rates would help to understand the
particle generation during rheocasting and the time the particles spheroidize. Figures
5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 demonstrates different manufacture configuration that could mitigate the
adverse of inclusions happening.

Suggested Manufacturing Configurations:
































Furnace
Ceramic
Crucible
Preheated
Metal Die
Turbulent flow
of melt
Ceramic Pot
Stabilizer
Laminar flow
of liquid metal
Feed channel
at an angle

Figure 5.1: Schematic of typical gating slanted at an angel with a stabilizing ceramic
pot limiting turbulent flow.

~47~













































Furnace
Ceramic Crucible
Preheated
Mould
Turbulent flow
of molten
metal
Ceramic Filter
v-channelsprue
Laminar flow
of melt
Figure 5.2: Schematic of feeding system including a filter separating non-metallic
inclusions leaving pure metal in mould.
Figure 5.3: Schematic of feeding system tilted at an angle. Feeding takes place right
after vigorous stirring is applied.
Ceramic
Crucible
Laminar flow
neglecting
induce gust
Preheated
Mould
Flow behaviour rely
on the operator
feeding the mould
Slanted
channel

~48~

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