Studies on Mold Filling Behavior of Al–10.5Si–1.7Cu Al Alloy During Rheo Pressure Die Casting System

An attempt has been made to simulate the mold filling behavior of semi-solid slurry of Al–10.5Si–1.7Cu alloy for rheo-pressure die casting (RPDC) with additional emphasis on the speed range of plunger of a die casting unit. The numerical results attained are then validated with subsequent experiments using the in-house-developed RPDC system. The software Flow-3D Cast™ is deployed to simulate the process of die filling at different speed ranges of plunger. Rheological parameters of Al–10.5Si–1.7Cu cast Al alloy used in the simulation study are measured experimentally with Anton™ Rheo meter. Semi-solid metal processing for the experiments is carried out using an indigenously developed coupled cooling slope and pressure die-cast system. The results from the simulation study indicate that plunger movement at higher speeds causes void formation, largely due to the air entrapment in the overflow region. However, when filling at slow speeds, this effect is mitigated simply by ensuring the final temperature of the slurry is above the solidus temperature; thus, the mold is completely filled with no void formation. By comparing the formed appearance of parts in experiments and simulations, as well as observing the X-ray films and flow field obtained in simulation,f it is clear that simulation and experiment agree quite well.