Thixo-extrusion of semi-solid 7075 aluminum alloy and the mechanical properties of its extrudates were investigated. The semisolid alloy was prepared by a cooling slope cast. In other to perform thixo-extrusion, semi-solid 7075 aluminum alloy billets were reheated at the reheating conditions reported in a previous study. The maximum extrusion pressure in thixo-extrusion was 615MPa. This was lower than that of conventional hot extrusion ($P_{max}=940MPa$) at the same extrusion conditions due to the increased fluidity of the alloy billet in the semi-solid state. The values of Rockwell hardness (scale B) at the extrusion direction of the as thixoextruded bar were 48~53HRB and the difference in Rockwell hardness between the transverse direction and the extrusion direction was 5HRB or less. The results show that thxio-extrusion of semi-solid 7075 Al alloy improves the workability and anisotropic with the extrusion direction compared with hot extrusion of the conventional alloy.

A commercially used Zr-based amorphous alloy was recycled and the effects of introducing carbon during recycling on the glass forming ability and mechanical properties of the alloy were investigated. The initial carbon content used in this study was 229ppm. The carbon content was gradually increased as the number of recycling iterations was increased and after the $4^{th}$ recycling it rapidly increased. As return scrap was recycled, polygonal particles precipitated, and they were identified as ZrC. The amount of the precipitates also increased with recycling. Tg, Tx and ${\Delta}T$ of the base alloy were 615 K, 696 K and 81 Kr respectively and they changed to 634 K, 706 K and 72 K after the $10^{th}$ recycling. The decrease of the ${\Delta}T$ value indicates deterioration of the glass forming ability. Hardness was not changed during three iterations of recycling but after the $4^{th}$ recycling it significantly increased. This is ascribed to an increase of amount of the hard particles, namely ZrC.

In recent years, Mg and its alloys have attracted a great deal of attention due to their low density, relatively excellent castability, and straightforward recyclability. Mg alloys have been widely applied to various industrial fields, and are representatively used in automotive and electronic parts. According to previous researches, the electrical conductivity of Mg alloys greatly decreases with increasing Al content. However, with the addition of Zn and/or Cu, the electrical conductivity of Mg alloys is maintained or slightly increased, and improved mechanical properties are obtained as well. On this basis, Mg-Zn-Cu alloys have been investigated in the present study with a focus on the effect of adding Zn and Cu on the electrical conductivity. The Zn and Cu contents ranged from 4 to 6wt.% and 0 to 1.5wt.%, respectively. Ternary Mg-Zn-Cu alloys have been prepared by gravity casting in a steel mold. In the as-casting condition, the electrical conductivity of Mg-Zn-Cu alloys showed a linear increasing trend with decreasing Zn and increasing Cu contents. Furthermore, impact values of Zn = -1.5 and Cu = 2.5 were determined for these alloys by electrical conductivity tests.

Permeability is the ability of a material to transmit fluid/gases. It is an important material property and it depends on mould parameters such as grain fineness number, clay, moisture, mulling time, and hardness. Modeling the relationships among these variable and interactions by mathematical models is complex. Hence a biologically inspired artificial neural-network technique with a back-propagation-learning algorithm was developed to estimate the permeability of green sand. The developed model was used to perform a sensitivity analysis to estimate permeability. The individual as well as the combined influence of mould parameters on permeability were simulated. The model was able to describe the complex relationships in the system. The optimum process window for maximum permeability was obtained as 8.75-10.5% clay and 3.9-9.5% moisture. The developed model is very useful in understanding various interactions between inputs and their effects on permeability.