Evaluation of the thixoformability of the A332 Alloy (Al–9.5 wt%Si–2.5 wt%Cu)

The main purpose of this article is to develop and/or use a commercial conventional low-cost raw material as thixoforming material in order to diminish the costs of the thixoforming process. Semi-solid technology usually uses aluminium low-silicon alloys such A356 (Al–7.0 wt%Si) as raw materials. High silicon content alloys with a quasi-eutectic composition diminish the semi-solid range, making it difficult to control the thixoforming temperature, although present excellent mechanical properties. This article reports on the semi-solid behaviour of Al–9.5 wt%Si–2.5 wt%Cu (A332). Thermo-Calc simulations and experimental DSC techniques were used to map the temperature transition from solid to liquid in order to achieve the best semi-solid behaviour and hence the best thixoforming temperature. Samples were reheated at three temperatures to 30, 45 and 60% of the solid fraction applying holding times of 0, 30, 90 and 210 s. The morphological evolution and semi-solid behaviour of the samples at these temperatures were determined via the fixed platen compression test. The structure showed the best semi-solid behaviour at 572 °C, with an apparent viscosity of up to 1.5 × 10⁵ Pa s. The results indicated that the semi-solid behaviour of the commertial Al–9.5 wt%Si–2.5 wt%Cu alloy is similar to that of the alloy A356. Despite its large dendritic structure it is possible, with the correct combination of temperature and time, to use this alloy as raw material for the thixoforming process. Furthermore, semi-solid parts can be produced by thixoforging using this low-cost material without any special preparation.