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The melting sequence of the Enthalpy Exchange Material (EEM) and formation of slurry in the RheoMetalTM process was investigated. The EEM was extracted, together with a portion of the slurry at different times before complete melting, and quenched. The EEM initially increased in size due to melt freezing onto its surface, forming a freeze-on layer. The initial growth of this layer was followed by a constant diameter of the EEM and thereafter subsequent melting. Microstructural characterization of the size and morphology of different phases in the EEM and the freeze-on layer was made. Dendritic equiaxed grains and eutectic regions containing Si particles and Cu-bearing particles were observed in the as-cast EEM. The freeze-on layer consisted of dendritic aluminum slightly tilted by about 30° toward the upstream direction, caused by the rotation of the EEM. Energy Dispersion Spectroscopy analysis showed that the freeze-on layer had a composition corresponding to a higher melting point than the EEM. Microstructural investigation of the EEM showed that the temperature rapidly increased to 495 ºC, causing incipient melting of Al2Cu and Al5Mg8Si6Cu2 phases in grain boundary regions. Following the incipient melting, the temperature in the EEM increased further and binary Al-Si eutectic started to melt to form a region of a fully developed coherent mushy state. Experimental results and a thermal model indicated that as the dendrites spheroidized and the interface at the EEM/freeze-on layer reached a mushy state with 25% solid fraction, coherency was lost and disintegration of the freeze-on layer took place. Subsequently, in the absence of the shielding effect from the freeze-on Layer, the EEM disintegrates at a higher solid fraction, estimated to be 50%. The fast and complex slurry generation in the RheoMetalTM process is a hybrid process with both rheocasting and thixocasting elements in the process.

The relation between microstructural inhomogeneity and thermal conductivity of a rheocast componentmanufactured from two different aluminum alloys was investigated. The formation of two different primarya-Al particles was observed and related to multistage solidification process during slurry preparationand die cavity filling process. The microstructural inhomogeneity of the component was quantified as thefraction of a1-Al particles in the primary Al phase. A high fraction of coarse solute-lean a1-Al particles inthe primary Al phase caused a higher thermal conductivity of the component in the near-to-gate region. Avariation in thermal conductivity through the rheocast component of 10% was discovered. The effect of aninhomogeneous temperature-dependent thermal conductivity on the thermal performance of a largerheocast heatsink for electronics cooling in an operation environment was studied by means of simulation.Design guidelines were developed to account for the thermal performance of heatsinks with inhomogeneousthermal conductivity, as caused by the rheocasting process. Under the modeling assumptions, the simulationresults showed over 2.5% improvement in heatsink thermal resistance when the higher conductivity nearto-gate region was located at the top of the heatsink. Assuming homogeneous thermo-physical properties ina rheocast heatsink may lead to greater than 3.5% error in the estimation of maximum thermal resistanceof the heatsink. The variation in thermal conductivity within a large rheocast heatsink was found to beimportant for obtaining of a robust component design., CompCast

The melting sequence of the Enthalpy Exchange Material (EEM) and formation of slurry in the RheoMetalTM process was investigated. The EEM was extracted, together with a portion of the slurry at different times before complete melting, and quenched. The EEM initially increased in size due to melt freezing onto its surface, forming a freeze-on layer. The initial growth of this layer was followed by a constant diameter of the EEM and thereafter subsequent melting. Microstructural characterization of the size and morphology of different phases in the EEM and the freeze-on layer was made. Dendritic equiaxed grains and eutectic regions containing Si particles and Cu-bearing particles were observed in the as-cast EEM. The freeze-on layer consisted of dendritic aluminum slightly tilted by about 30° toward the upstream direction, caused by the rotation of the EEM. Energy Dispersion Spectroscopy analysis showed that the freeze-on layer had a composition corresponding to a higher melting point than the EEM. Microstructural investigation of the EEM showed that the temperature rapidly increased to 495 ºC, causing incipient melting of Al2Cu and Al5Mg8Si6Cu2 phases in grain boundary regions. Following the incipient melting, the temperature in the EEM increased further and binary Al-Si eutectic started to melt to form a region of a fully developed coherent mushy state. Experimental results and a thermal model indicated that as the dendrites spheroidized and the interface at the EEM/freeze-on layer reached a mushy state with 25% solid fraction, coherency was lost and disintegration of the freeze-on layer took place. Subsequently, in the absence of the shielding effect from the freeze-on Layer, the EEM disintegrates at a higher solid fraction, estimated to be 50%. The fast and complex slurry generation in the RheoMetalTM process is a hybrid process with both rheocasting and thixocasting elements in the process.

The relation between microstructural inhomogeneity and thermal conductivity of a rheocast componentmanufactured from two different aluminum alloys was investigated. The formation of two different primarya-Al particles was observed and related to multistage solidification process during slurry preparationand die cavity filling process. The microstructural inhomogeneity of the component was quantified as thefraction of a1-Al particles in the primary Al phase. A high fraction of coarse solute-lean a1-Al particles inthe primary Al phase caused a higher thermal conductivity of the component in the near-to-gate region. Avariation in thermal conductivity through the rheocast component of 10% was discovered. The effect of aninhomogeneous temperature-dependent thermal conductivity on the thermal performance of a largerheocast heatsink for electronics cooling in an operation environment was studied by means of simulation.Design guidelines were developed to account for the thermal performance of heatsinks with inhomogeneousthermal conductivity, as caused by the rheocasting process. Under the modeling assumptions, the simulationresults showed over 2.5% improvement in heatsink thermal resistance when the higher conductivity nearto-gate region was located at the top of the heatsink. Assuming homogeneous thermo-physical properties ina rheocast heatsink may lead to greater than 3.5% error in the estimation of maximum thermal resistanceof the heatsink. The variation in thermal conductivity within a large rheocast heatsink was found to beimportant for obtaining of a robust component design., CompCast

The melting sequence of the Enthalpy Exchange Material (EEM) and formation of slurry in the RheoMetalTM process was investigated. The EEM was extracted, together with a portion of the slurry at different times before complete melting, and quenched. The EEM initially increased in size due to melt freezing onto its surface, forming a freeze-on layer. The initial growth of this layer was followed by a constant diameter of the EEM and thereafter subsequent melting. Microstructural characterization of the size and morphology of different phases in the EEM and the freeze-on layer was made. Dendritic equiaxed grains and eutectic regions containing Si particles and Cu-bearing particles were observed in the as-cast EEM. The freeze-on layer consisted of dendritic aluminum slightly tilted by about 30° toward the upstream direction, caused by the rotation of the EEM. Energy Dispersion Spectroscopy analysis showed that the freeze-on layer had a composition corresponding to a higher melting point than the EEM. Microstructural investigation of the EEM showed that the temperature rapidly increased to 495 ºC, causing incipient melting of Al2Cu and Al5Mg8Si6Cu2 phases in grain boundary regions. Following the incipient melting, the temperature in the EEM increased further and binary Al-Si eutectic started to melt to form a region of a fully developed coherent mushy state. Experimental results and a thermal model indicated that as the dendrites spheroidized and the interface at the EEM/freeze-on layer reached a mushy state with 25% solid fraction, coherency was lost and disintegration of the freeze-on layer took place. Subsequently, in the absence of the shielding effect from the freeze-on Layer, the EEM disintegrates at a higher solid fraction, estimated to be 50%. The fast and complex slurry generation in the RheoMetalTM process is a hybrid process with both rheocasting and thixocasting elements in the process.

The relation between microstructural inhomogeneity and thermal conductivity of a rheocast componentmanufactured from two different aluminum alloys was investigated. The formation of two different primarya-Al particles was observed and related to multistage solidification process during slurry preparationand die cavity filling process. The microstructural inhomogeneity of the component was quantified as thefraction of a1-Al particles in the primary Al phase. A high fraction of coarse solute-lean a1-Al particles inthe primary Al phase caused a higher thermal conductivity of the component in the near-to-gate region. Avariation in thermal conductivity through the rheocast component of 10% was discovered. The effect of aninhomogeneous temperature-dependent thermal conductivity on the thermal performance of a largerheocast heatsink for electronics cooling in an operation environment was studied by means of simulation.Design guidelines were developed to account for the thermal performance of heatsinks with inhomogeneousthermal conductivity, as caused by the rheocasting process. Under the modeling assumptions, the simulationresults showed over 2.5% improvement in heatsink thermal resistance when the higher conductivity nearto-gate region was located at the top of the heatsink. Assuming homogeneous thermo-physical properties ina rheocast heatsink may lead to greater than 3.5% error in the estimation of maximum thermal resistanceof the heatsink. The variation in thermal conductivity within a large rheocast heatsink was found to beimportant for obtaining of a robust component design., CompCast

The melting sequence of the Enthalpy Exchange Material (EEM) and formation of slurry in the RheoMetalTM process was investigated. The EEM was extracted, together with a portion of the slurry at different times before complete melting, and quenched. The EEM initially increased in size due to melt freezing onto its surface, forming a freeze-on layer. The initial growth of this layer was followed by a constant diameter of the EEM and thereafter subsequent melting. Microstructural characterization of the size and morphology of different phases in the EEM and the freeze-on layer was made. Dendritic equiaxed grains and eutectic regions containing Si particles and Cu-bearing particles were observed in the as-cast EEM. The freeze-on layer consisted of dendritic aluminum slightly tilted by about 30° toward the upstream direction, caused by the rotation of the EEM. Energy Dispersion Spectroscopy analysis showed that the freeze-on layer had a composition corresponding to a higher melting point than the EEM. Microstructural investigation of the EEM showed that the temperature rapidly increased to 495 ºC, causing incipient melting of Al2Cu and Al5Mg8Si6Cu2 phases in grain boundary regions. Following the incipient melting, the temperature in the EEM increased further and binary Al-Si eutectic started to melt to form a region of a fully developed coherent mushy state. Experimental results and a thermal model indicated that as the dendrites spheroidized and the interface at the EEM/freeze-on layer reached a mushy state with 25% solid fraction, coherency was lost and disintegration of the freeze-on layer took place. Subsequently, in the absence of the shielding effect from the freeze-on Layer, the EEM disintegrates at a higher solid fraction, estimated to be 50%. The fast and complex slurry generation in the RheoMetalTM process is a hybrid process with both rheocasting and thixocasting elements in the process.

Commercial grade AM50 magnesium alloy was diecast to varying wall thickness using both the RheoMetal process and conventional liquid casting. The resulting microstructure and pore structure were analysed. The rheocast material had larger pores than the conventionally cast material, scattered over the central 50% of the cross-section, while the pores in the conventionally cast material was concentrated to a segregation band at a depth corresponding to approximately 30% of the wall thickness. In the Rheocast samples, there was a correlation between thicker sections and larger primary alpha-Mg globules with a lower shape factor.

The RheoMetal process, previously also called the Rapid Slurry Forming process (“Rapid S”) or RSF process, is a novel method to produce high quality, cost effective, semi-solid magnesium slurries for component casting. The RheoMetal process uses an Enthalpy Exchange Material (EEM) as internal cooling to produce the slurry. Typical critical process parameters in the RheoMetal process are alloy content, stirring speed, superheat and EEM to melt ratio. In this study the effects of EEM to melt ratio and superheat on the slurry characteristics was examined for binary Mg-Al alloys in the range 5.8 - 11.2 wt % Al. Samples were quenched after slurry preparation and the microstructure was studied with respect to solid fraction and a-Al grain diameter. The solid fraction increased with an increasing EEM to melt ratio for all Al-contents investigated. Further, it was found that the solid fraction as well as the grain diameter decreased with increasing aluminium content (at constant EEM to weight ratio).