• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.5-8
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• 2008

As the semi-solid forming technology has a lot of advantages compared to the die casting, squeeze casting and hot/cold forging, it has been studied actively. This paper focuses on the thixoforging of the rheological materials fabricated by the spiral mechanical stirring equipment with A356 casting aluminum alloy and A6061 wrought aluminum alloy. Formability tests of rheological materials fabricated by spiral mechanical stirring were carried out and the microstructures of forged sample were observed. After thixoforging experiment, the heat-treated conditions of forged samples are investigated to improve the mechanical properties. These results are able to suggest the possibility of commercialization for rheological materials fabricated by spiral mechanical stirring.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.70-73
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• 2002

Using a simple compression test, the viscosity measurement experiment is carried out with the grain-refined Al-Si alloy(A356). The measured rheological data are expressed with power-law(Ostwald-de Waele) model and using commercial package, MAGMAsoft, coefficients of Ostwald-de Waele model and Carreau-Yasuda model are calculated. To verify the viscosity data, the die is designed to be applicable to the semi-solid die casting of automotive component and filling test is carried out. The filling test and the simulation result are compared and in good agreement. Hereafter, these data are considered to be usefully allied other product in the semi-solid die casting.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.311-318
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• 1997

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 1998.11a
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• pp.110-110
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• 1998

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.99-107
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• 1995

The morphological changes of primary solid particles as a function of process time on hypereutectic Al-15.5wt%Si alloy during semi-solid state processing with a shear rate of $200s^{-1}$ are studied. In this alloy, it was observed that primary Si crystals are fragmented at the early stage of stirring and morphologies of primary Si crystals change from faceted to spherical during isothermal shearing for 60 minutes. To understand the role of Al dissolved in the primary Si crystal by shear stress at high temperature, lattice parameters of the primary Si crystals are determined as a variation of high order Laue zone(HOLZ) line positions measured from convergent beam electron diffraction(CBED) pattern. The lattice parameter of the primary Si crystal in the rheocast Al-15.5wt%Si alloy shows tensile strain of about 5 times greater than that of the gravity casting. Increase of the lattice parameter by rheocasting is due to the increased amount of Al dissolved in the primary Si crystal accelerated by shear stress at high temperature. The amounts of solute Al in the primary Si crystal are measured quantitatively by EPMA method to confirm the CBED analysis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.65-69
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• 2003

The effects of microstructural features on the fracture behaviors, including impact, high-cycle fatigue, fatigue and crack propagation, of thixoformed 357-T5 (Al-7%Si-0.6%Mg) alloy were examined. The resistance to impact and high-cycle fatigueof thixoformed 357-T5 tended to improve greatly with increasing solid volume fraction. An almost three-fold increase in impact energy value was, for example, observed with increasing solid volume fraction from 59 to 70%. The improvement in both impact and fatigue properties of thixoformed 357-75 with increasing solid volume fraction in the present study appeared to be related to the magnitude of stress concentration at the interface between primary and eutectic phase, by which the fracture process was largely influenced. Based on the fractographic and micrographic observations, the mechanism associated with the beneficial effect of high solid volume fraction in thixoformed 357-T5 alloy was discussed.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.26-38
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• 2009

It was reported that the semi-solid forming process has many advantages over the conventional forming process, such as a long die life, good mechanical properties and energy savings. It is very important, however, to control liquid segregation to gain mechanical property improvement of materials. During forming process, rheology material has complex characteristics, thixotropic behavior. Also, difference of velocity between solid and liquid in the semi-solid state material makes a liquid segregation and specific stress variation. Therefore, it is difficult for a numerical simulation of the rheology process to be performed. General plastic or fluid dynamic analysis is not suitable for the behavior of rheology material. The behavior and stress of solid particle in the rheology material during forging process is affected by viscosity, temperature and solid fraction. In this study, compression experiments of aluminum alloy were performed under each other tool shape which is rectangle shape(square array), rectangle shape(hexagonal array), and free shape tool. In addition, the dynamics behavior compare with Okano equation to power law model which is viscosity equation.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.331-339
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• 2004

Melt-extrusion process, a metallic melt poured and solidified up to semisolid state in the container can be directly extruded through the die exit to form a product of bar shape without other intermediate processes. In this study, the fabrication characteristics of the process were evaluated with various process parameters, such as preheating temperature of extrusion dies, extrusion temperature and extrusion ratio. AI-Cu alloys were successfully extruded after squeezing out of liquid during melt-extrusion with smaller force compared to the solid extrusion. Soundly AI-Cu alloy bar was fabricated at the preheating temperature of $500{\sim}520^{\circ}C$. The range of extrusion temperature for soundly melt-extruded AI-Cu alloy bar was increased with increasing extrusion ratio. Mechanical properties of melt-extruded AI-Cu alloy bars were found change with Cu content of the melt-extruded bars due to the occurrence of segregation. The various extrusion temperature yielded equiaxed structure with a grains size about 200 ${\mu}m$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.1011-1012
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• 2012

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.483-493
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• 1995

The microstructural changes during semi-solid state processing of hypereutectic Al-Si alloy has been investigated in the present study. Stirring of semi-solid slurry results in the morphological changes of the primary Si particles, i.e. from angular rod shape to near-spherical shape. Besides the spherodization of primary Si particles, the average particle size increases, especially, at much higher rate in the final stage than that in the early stage of stirring. Various microstructure characterization techniques, such as anisotropic etching, SEM imaging and ECP analysis, reveal that the spherodization of primary Si particles occurs by the combinations of the mechanisms of coalescence, fracture, and wear of the individual particles. Isothermal shearing of hypereutectic Al-Si at $580^{\circ}C$ shows that spherical ${\alpha}-Al$ particles are formed by the dissociation of Al-Si eutectic structure at the early stage of isothermal shearing. The spherical ${\alpha}-Al$ particles gradually grow by the mechanisms of Ostwald ripening and coalescence of the particles.